Only Human
by ijuintekka
Summary: A Skywarp centric story loosely themed around the the season 3 episode "Only Human".
1. Chapter 1

The darkness of space, an endless black canvas speckled with tiny pin points of bright white light. Trapped within this void, six figures floated helplessly through the blackness, their bodies catching brief glints of light from far away stars. Their bodies were cold, rigid not because of the harsh environment they were in, but because they were not flesh and blood. They were mechanical, complex machines crafted by complex machines, forged from metals stronger than any mere human crafted material. Their bodies bristled with weapons, built with enough power to destroy structures, vaporize beings of flesh, and tear wounds on each other with only a single shot.

These were machines beyond the simple toys played with by a primitive child race. These were living machines, each one lovingly constructed with the capacity to annihilate entire civilizations. Each one of them held what a human would refer to as a '_soul_', whether these souls were gifted to machines as the result of some divine whim, or were sealed into their cold husks by lifeforms seeking to create a higher existence was unknown to them. It didn't matter either way, they were here and they had a frightening purpose.

These six however, were not completely intact. Their sleek bodies were torn and distorted, their innards exposed, circuitry sparked as it shorted out, and fuel leaked from burst mechanisms, leaving globule trails in their wake. Their souls waned and cried out, the systems keeping them alive in danger of failing completely.

One of them stirred, had he not been obscured by the shadows of space he would have been a brilliant azure with red trim. A tall and powerful warrior, filled with pride but not without misgivings about the war he was built for. He shifted his weight to the side, and drifted over to one of his floating companions.

"Megatron, sir. Megatron? Can you hear me?" The azure warrior reached out and gently shook the other machine. Almost instantly the one known as Megatron reacted with surprising power pushing the hand away.

"I can hear you just fine, Thundercracker. My optics are barely functioning, find me a way to safety." The order came without a thought for any others who may be drifting with him, unfortunately for him however, they were surrounded by nothing but an infinite void.

"We are not far away from the human's star system. Astrotrain left us behind and there is nowhere for us to go. We're stranded." Thundercracker's expression shifted into an approximation of disgust.

"Unacceptable!" Megatron raged, but his voice was tainted by weakness. "Who else is here?!"

Thundercracker twisted his head around to observe the others floating nearby, "Skywarp, and the Insecticons. But none of us have the power to make it back to Cybertron, not even enough power to make it back to Earth."

Megatron paused in thought before speaking again, "Skywarp can make himself useful and teleport us intermittently back to Earth, we could still make it back to Nemesis."

"Mighty Megatron, I don't think he has the power to teleport himself, let alone all of us." Thundercracker's voice was still strong, he could see from his observations of the other five, Skywarp and himself were the least damaged. He still couldn't believe Megatron had taken such a beating from Optimus Prime.

"What about your power, Thundercracker? If you transfer your power to him, could he make it back?" Megatron hissed.

Thundercracker looked uncomfortable at the suggestion, but he was compelled to obey. "Perhaps he could make it back alone. If he did, he could send the Decepticons from Nemesis back here to find us."

Megatron looked disgusted at the very suggestion one of his minions could make it back to Earth while he couldn't, but it was his only chance at survival right now. "Give Skywarp your energy, every last drop. Tell him to have Reflector reactivate the remaining seeker drones that we have stored in Nemesis. You have your orders. Do it." Megatron hissed menacingly at his subordinate.

Thundercracker looked a little hurt at the suggestion he should sacrifice his own energy. But even Megatron in his weakened state could still put enough power behind his weaponry to vaporize him for insubordination. So he simply nodded, and threw his weight to Skywarp's direction. "As you command."

Skywarp, was physically identical to Thundercracker, in almost every way. They shared the same body structure and the same face, one might call them twins. What set them apart was Thundercracker's suitability as a warrior, dedicated to upfront assaults whereas his twin Skywarp, was better suited for infiltration, hit and fade attacks, or assassination. In contrast to Thundercracker's vibrant azure colour scheme, Skywarp was as black as the void they found themselves in, only a dim silver grey on his chest allowed Thundercracker to locate his twin brother.

"Skywarp, you still with us?" Thundercracker asked, his voice sounded quite concerned, they were what one could call siblings after all. Though there were many seekers, most of them mindless drones, these two were a part of the original trio.

Skywarp didn't move, there weren't any signs of life from the black plated assassin. Thundercracker nudged him again, not hard enough to cause him to float away but enough to get his attention, but still there was nothing. "Dead..." Thundercracker said quietly, "I can't believe you're dead. We were born together served the cause together and now you're dead, and I'm still here. I can't believe it... What am I saying, we'll all be dead soon anyway... I guess we will go together after all, brother." Thundercracker put an arm on his deceased companion, it was a strange ritualistic mourning that one wouldn't expect from machines, it made them seem almost human.

"You're such a sap, Thundercracker. Ha-ha-ha." The voice came suddenly without warning, and the other seeker brushed his brother's hand off, dissolving into self satisfied laughter.

"You!" Thundercracker's patience instantly cracked. "I can't believe it! We're out here at death's door and you're still acting the clown! For someone who claims they're not very bright you sure seem to keep fooling the rest of us."

"Hah. Come on Thundercracker, you should have seen it by now. The best way to get into someone's head is if they think you're not smart enough to do it. And I know you so well, that's why you're such an easy mark." Skywarp grinned, as his brother silently fumed in frustration.

"I'll show you who's an easy mark~ No, forget that, this is important. Megatron has orders for you, so listen." Thundercracker opened the a cavity on his chest, from it an extendible cable could be pulled to connect to other power sources. "I'm going to give you my energy, so you can go back to Earth and order Reflector and the Seeker drones to get out here and save us."

"Give me your energy? You must be crazy, you're half dead already." Skywarp snarled at the thought and brushed the cable away.

"This is an order. From Megatron. And it's the only way we're going to get out of here alive. And if you don't do it, Megatron's going to take it out on both of us so he can get some satisfaction before he dies." Thundercracker pulled open the opposing cavity on his brother's chest and connected the power supply.

Skywarp's face went suddenly dark and serious. "You'll die you know. If you give me your energy you'll be dead before I get back."

"...I know." Thundercracker said as he started transferring the energy. "Which is why I need you to do something for me."

"What is it?" Skywarp reluctantly allowed his core to collect the energy, however much he may have disliked the idea. He was essentially taking his brother's life so he could live, there were other cases like this, of Autobots and Decepticons getting desperate during the war and feeding off each other, they were called vampires. And no one from either side wanted anything to do with them.

"I want you to wipe that grin off Starscream's face. Show him we're better than him, that he's not going to get away with doing this to his own brothers and his commander. Do it for me. In my memory." Thundercracker stopped sending energy, his arms didn't move, and his mouth hung open. "I need to shut down..."

Skywarp disconnected the cable and closed his chest cavity. "Go ahead and shut down. I hope you left enough energy to preserve your core because I will come back for you. And we can put down Starscream together, and give his head to Megatron with a pretty bow on it."

Thundercracker didn't reply, his systems were already shutting down and he was going into core preservation, he'd still be alive for a while. At least until his remaining reserves ran out. Skywarp watched his brother float a little longer, placed his hand on his shoulder and performed the same ritual. But all too soon, he was ready to go, his body twisted and turned, folding itself into his alternate form, a sleek black F15 eagle, once the pride of human engineering, in this era it had been superseded. Since they were no longer hiding, the Decepticons had seen no need to upgrade their combat modes to blend in with modern technology.

Skywarp's engines engaged and he soared out into the darkness, gathering speed before in a brief flash of white light he had teleported away, leaving his four companions to drift. The broken figure of Megatron raged silently, he needed to conserve energy as well and began shutting down systems. He would leave his senses on-line, just in case. Just as he was about to rest his higher functions he heard something, a sound, not in space surely, but he thought he had heard something. A demonic voice calling his name, but he dismissed it, it wasn't possible, there was nothing out there calling to him. After all, nobody summons Megatron.

-

After what seemed like an age of travelling, a weakened and damaged Skywarp reappeared within Earth's solar system. The beautiful blue pearl of a planet hung in the distance, it was much closer now, but still so far away. '_One more jump should do it._' The black jet thought to himself, though his power was almost used up from such a multitude of jumps. In another rainbow tinted flash of white light he disappeared again, breaking through the fabric of space required much less energy than one may have imagined, albeit made somewhat easier for a sleek dynamic machine such as himself. Coming out at the position he chose however was much harder.

Skywarp reappeared once more, but something had gone very wrong. He felt it instantly, he had jumped too close the planet and was travelling too fast at a bad angle, before he could get his bearings the Earth's gravity already had him firmly in its grasp.

"Oh, this is bad." Skywarp said to himself as the atmosphere started to burn around him. He tried to correct his approach, but he was dangerously low on energy and couldn't fight the forces opposed to him. His engines stuttered and died, leaving him to the mercy of the earth below. He didn't know what to do next, this was outside his field of experience, and he wasn't good at making things up on the spot. It was this inability to act under pressure which had dogged his service to the cause.

His instruments span, and he prayed that somehow he might be given a soft landing. No such luck, Antarctica reared its barren face below him as he plunged towards it. It grew closer, and closer, a canvas of pure white, until eventually it was upon him, he plunged into the surface, rolling and crashing into ice and rock, reverting to his humanoid form as he did so. Eventually he came to a halt, pieces of both wings strewn behind him along with one of his legs. This was it, it had taken all his remaining energy just to hold the rest of his body together on impact. There was no way he was going to make it to Nemesis now, he could feel his body preparing to shut down to preserve his core. "Damn, damn it all. I-" His head fell suddenly, as his body completed its shut-down sequence.

All was silent bar the chilling howl of the Arctic wind.


	2. Chapter 2

When Skywarp awoke, he found himself staring up at a grey steel ceiling. His vision blurred as his eyes ran diagnostics and assessed performance before quickly returning to normal. He turned his head and examined his surroundings, the room was bright and clean, lights blinked periodically along a set of consoles. They were small though, each of them had a chair nearby, and in each chair was a single human.

"Humans." Skywarp said out loud in a disgusted tone. He tried to move from the platform he was laying on, but he found that all he could do was rotate his head, he couldn't activate his teleportation ability either. He was well and truly at the mercy of these things. "Release me, you filth!"

They seemed startled as if they hadn't expected him to speak. Some of them got up and stumbled backwards, scared out of their wits. Skywarp smirked at the sight and decided to push it further. "What are you waiting for? Don't get me angry, because if I have to get out of here on my own I'll use your tiny bodies to grease my gears."

"Unfortunately for you, you won't be getting out of those bonds any time soon. If ever." A human female spoke up, and strode over to the low platform Skywarp was trapped on. His eyes whirred as he scrutinized her, she was average height for a human. Her hair was a dull red, long but hoisted high and pulled back into a bun. Like the rest of the humans in the room she was dressed in a non descript white coat, and matching gloves, a thick pair of rectangular glasses low on her nose. Skywarp recognized that the material was anti-static. He didn't need to be a genius to put two and two together to realize they'd been tinkering around inside his body.

"So you're the reason I can't move, huh?" Skywarp tried again to force his body into action, but it simply refused to move.

The woman turned to one of her colleagues, ignoring Skywarp's question. "Fetch Doctor King, he'll want to speak to it." The other man turned and hurried away, he clearly didn't relish the concept of remaining in Skywarp's presence.

"It? That's the first time I've heard a human forget to assign a gender to something. Listen, I've got a job to do. So if you let me go now. I'll forgive you for kidnapping me and not vaporize you."

The woman brushed a stray hair from her eyes and pushed her glasses into their correct position. "I'm not the one keeping you here. A lot of good people have died because of you things, if it were up to me we would have left you buried in Antarctica forever."

"But it's not up to you." A raspy voice with a hint of arrogance cut through the air, if he had skin Skywarp's would have been crawling. Just hearing the voice annoyed him.

The voice belonged to a middle-aged man, with unkempt silver hair and a patch over one eye. In his hand he held a cane, its head shaped like a hammer, one end an elongated conical spike, more than likely used for self defence. The other end a crude human skull, sporting a pair of coiled horns. He sat in a wheelchair, being pushed by a tall raven haired woman dressed in the same coat and gloves as the rest of the humans.

It was only for an instant but Skywarp saw the red-haired woman's mouth distort into a snarl, before returning to the same nonchalant expression she had before. He made a note of her reaction to the old man, just in case he needed to use it later on.

The raven haired woman pushed the old man to Skywarp's platform. Using his cane, the old man pulled himself out of the chair, and hobbled closer to the jet black robot. He struggled to move his right leg and relied completely on the cane to move.

"Good morning Decepticon. I've been waiting a long time for a live specimen like you. My name is Doctor Nicholas King." Doctor King smiled and stared at Skywarp with his one remaining eye. "All I've found up to now have been corpses of dead Autobots and Decepticons. But you, when we uncovered you in Antarctica, I couldn't have been happier. You should be thankful, your energy was almost completely gone, if I hadn't rescued you, you'd be just another corpse. You owe me your life."

Skywarp's face cracked into a broad smile, "HAHAHAHA! I don't owe you anything meat bag. But I'm curious, what are you doing HERE? Trying to build weapons? Is that what you filth are up to?"

Doctor King smiled at him. "Perhaps." King tapped his cane twice, the sound echoed through the cavernous room. "Everybody, leave. I want to talk to him alone."

There was murmuring from the gathered humans, but they obediently got up from their seats and left the room. As the red haired woman passed, Doctor King made a point of not making eye contact with her, while the raven haired woman put out an arm to stop her.

"Miss Haven, have you completed setting up the specialist equipment?" Doctor King asked without turning around to look at her.

"Professor Haven, if you please, Doctor." The red haired woman responded. "And no, it isn't ready yet. We need a few more hours."

"Then please, _Professor_ Haven, return to the control room and finish the preparations." Doctor King tapped his cane on floor again to dismiss her, and the raven haired woman dropped her arm to allow her to pass.

"Thank you for your hard work, Melissa." The raven haired woman smirked as she let her go.

The red haired woman, Melissa Haven, suppressed the basic urge to lash out and strike the woman where she stood. Making her way outside, Melissa calmly closed the door behind her, and breathed a heavy sigh.

Doctor King returned to his wheelchair, and the raven haired woman stood behind him, her hands folded across her abdomen. Skywarp watched the two of them, they stood in front of him with irritating expressions on their faces. The two of them exuded arrogance and their eyes sparkled with malicious intent. Skywarp couldn't help but be reminded of Starscream, if he had been a human, he would have eyes just like that.

"What do you two want from me?" Skywarp suddenly became serious, there was nothing to be gained from continuing to fight them in his situation.

"Since you machines first arrived here thirty six years ago, I've been fascinated with you. For machines to have the capacity to think and feel at the same level as humans, is truly miraculous, a level of technology I could never hope to match in my lifetime." King tapped the blunt end of his cane against his palm and gazed longingly into one of Skywarp's eyes.

"Since the Autobots established their city on Earth and made a pact with the United States Government to remain here, information has been made available to me about your history and your origins." Doctor King rested the cane on the floor and leaned into it.

"You're rambling and it's annoying me," Skywarp groaned, "So what? You just want to prod me and see how I tick until I fall apart?"

"No, my friend. I want to be you." Doctor King slammed the cane down against the ground. "For twenty years, I have been confined in this crippled body, unable to walk, unable to do any of the things most people take for granted. And then I look at you, at all your kind. In immense, powerful, _repairable_, bodies. With a body like yours that can live for millions of years, imagine what I could accomplish."

Skywarp almost burst out laughing, what was this stupid human thinking? "You want to be one of us, meat bag? Sorry to disappoint you but this isn't some club offering membership."

"Do you know how you were born?" King asked Skywarp, resuming tapping his cane against his palm.

"Of course I know. The three of us were built, then taken to Vector Sigma for programming." Skywarp replied, his memory was fuzzy on that issue, but that was common, it was disorienting experience, suddenly coming to life as they did.

"Interesting, and how exactly does that happen?" King leaned closer to hear the response.

"How should I know? I'm built to fight, I'm not a scientist." Skywarp rotated his head back to the ceiling, hearing this human talk was beginning to drive him over the edge.

"Your race was built by a species calling themselves the Quintesson. Cybertron, Vector Sigma, they are all products of Quintesson engineering. Vector Sigma, for lack of a better description is not just a computer, but a soul vault. I don't quite understand how it works, perhaps one day I will, but the Quintesson lack a moral compass. They committed genocide on many planets in order to harvest souls for the Vector Sigma factory on Cybertron. There they created two lines of products, Cybertron and Destron. One to be sold for domestic use, the other to be sold as weapons of war, to planets where they harvested more souls to build more weapons."

King lifted his cane and admired the carving of the handle before continuing. "It was a strange move to make, rather than create a controllable artificial intelligence they chose to put their future in the hands of the volatile hearts and minds of creatures they killed. No wonder your ancestors turned on them and claimed the factory as their new homeland. And then, after a brief peace under their new names, the two factions began to fight amongst themselves. And the rest as you know, is history."

Skywarp turned his head back to face King, his eyes flashed with frustration. "It's obvious you like to hear yourself talk. I'm done with you, meat bag. Either let me go, or leave me."

King smiled and leaned further forward. "Oh? Don't you want to hear how I'm going to take your body?"

"...What did you say?" Skywarp's mouth dropped, this was getting too much. "Take my body?"

"You were trapped under that ice for five years so of course you wouldn't have heard. But there was a man, named Victor Drath, who stole the bodies of four Autobots by transferring their souls into synthetic human bodies. Of course his plan wasn't nearly as well thought out as mine, and he failed miserably. I however have modified this technology to move _my_ soul into _your_ body. I'm telling you this, as unlike your creators I feel you have the right to know what's going to happen before you die." King smile broadened.

Skywarp's face contorted with rage, his eyes flashing bright red. "You filthy creature, you're not getting anywhere near my body." He tried to move again, but his body just wouldn't respond. "Damn, damn, DAMN!"

King leaned back in his chair, "I would make peace with my maker at this time if I were you. By tomorrow, you will be dead." The raven haired woman turned King's chair to face the exit, and began wheeling him out.

"Kimberley, I would like you to prepare a bath for me." King said as they moved away.

"As you wish, Doctor." She replied, and the door closed behind them.

Skywarp felt helpless, he had to get away somehow. There had to be something he could do. But then it hit him; five years. That man said he had been buried for five years, that meant, Megatron and Thundercracker were long dead. He had failed. They were counting on him and he failed. Perhaps he did deserve to die after all.


	3. Chapter 3

Melissa looked out of the control room window down into the main lab. King was long gone and the staff had returned. They faced the task of hoisting Skywarp into the apparatus erected earlier in the day, without returning any of his mobility to him. His mouth moved fluidly, he was hassling the staff who were trying to move him. Melissa smiled a little, one of the staff lost his self control and was shouting back at the giant robot. Skywarp smiled too, happy that he got a response from the little human and took pleasure in tormenting him further.

"What am I thinking?" She said out loud and turned away from the window. The workmen in the control room were putting the finishing touches on two thick glass tubes, one marked for input the other for output. From what she understood, they were attempting some kind of mind transfer with the Decepticon. She didn't like the idea of the project being a success, if the military could create their own Autobots or Decepticons they would want to get their hands on as many bodies as they could, it didn't bode well for the humans' relationship with Autobot city.

Skywarp was now upright, sandwiched between two metal clamps, a complicated looking apparatus was fitted to him, restraining his head's movement. Everything was in place then, all they had to do now was wait for Doctor King to return.

Skywarp was silent, observing the busy little ants at his feet. It had been too long now, almost a whole earth day had gone by and he still couldn't move. The raven haired woman, Kimberley, was now in control of the lab floor, it seemed they were ready to proceed. From the clear glass window above, Skywarp could see Doctor King and Melissa Haven watching the final preparations being completed.

Melissa looked away from Skywarp's eyes, "Do you really intend to proceed with this Doctor? Even using yourself as the test subject seems like quite a risk."

King didn't take his eyes off Skywarp, and didn't turn to face Melissa when she spoke but he did reply. "I wouldn't entrust this experiment to anyone else."

Melissa frowned and looked back at Skywarp, she couldn't believe she was starting to feel sorry for one of those killing machines, but she was all the same. "_Sentimentalism is one of the most annoying traits I have._"

Doctor King reached for the Microphone on the panel before him. "Kimberley, are we ready to proceed?"

Kimberley looked up at the control room window and gave the signal with her thumb and forefinger. King smiled and wheeled himself over to the input tube, using his cane to hoist himself out of the chair he made his way inside, a lab assistant sealing the container after him.

"Proceed." He said, simply.

The apparatus in the lab lit up and hummed into life. Skywarp's entire body shook as his motor functions finally restored themselves. He could move but the physical restraints were still holding him firmly in place. He tried to struggle free as the machine broke through layers of programming that were preventing it from reaching his core, but each defence was falling too easily. It was going to reach his core and wipe it clean in a matter of seconds.

"_Teleport!_" His mind screamed at him. It was so obvious, why hadn't he tried it instead of struggling uselessly? His internal mechanisms sprang to life and made preparations to slip into the dimensional rift. He was about to free himself when suddenly he realised, he wasn't in his body any more, he was above it, in the strange machine attacking him. He saw his body go limp below him, just before the vision faded to black and all was quiet. He was still aware, still alive, but there was no sound, no light reached his eyes, there was only darkness.

Then just as suddenly as it had faded, his world sprang back into life. Skywarp gasped for air, his eyes burned, and his body felt soft and warm. He collapsed to his knees and stared at his hands. They were flesh, they were human hands. His entire body burned with painful sensations. "What... WHAT!? WHAT IS THIS?!" He screamed out loud as the pain intensified until it got so bad, that his body simply stopped, his eyes rolled back and he was unconscious, still not completely sure what had happened to him.

Melissa stood with her mouth wide open, her gaze transfixed on what had just happened before her. Doctor King's body, for lack of a better word, had just disintegrated right in front of her, and now in the output tube adjacent to King's was another man. This man had cropped jet black hair, and striking red eyes the man had looked at his hands, he seemed truly horrified before he screamed and lost consciousness. Freeing herself from her daze, Melissa spun around and pressed her hands and face against the glass.

Everything below was silent, the body of the Decepticon hung in the restraints and every human in the room stared at it with baited breath. The red eyes of Skywarp's body filled with life again and a wry smile spread across its face, and it began to laugh.

"Hah... Hah hah... Hahahaha! HAHAHAHAHAHA! It worked! I'm free of that crippled body! This is incredible! I feel- I feel powerful!"

Kimberley waved a hand authoritatively at the gathered staff, "Release the restraints at once!"

The restraints clanked and retracted, exposing Skywarp's body in all its glory. It raised its arms and flexed its hands as if checking everything was in working order, then it began to walk forward. Kimberley rushed forward and spread her arms wide in amazement. "Doctor! Doctor King! You look magnificent! Docto- NO-" She was cut short, as one of the behemoth feet came down on her, crushing her instantly, leaving her broken body in a pool of her own blood.

"Magnificent, yes. Truly magnificent!" King, now inhabiting Skywarp's body didn't even seem to care what he had just done. The humans all around stared in stunned silence. "All of you. All of you looked down on what I once was, but now I am above you all!" King raised one of the arm mounted cannons and aimed it at the human furthest away, and fired, vaporizing her instantly.

That was all it took, mass panic ensued as the humans fought to get out of the room. King laughed maniacally as he began executing the humans one by one. Melissa stared in horror at what was going on below. "What happened?! What's going on?!" She screamed and hammered on the thick glass window. She was overcome by utter disbelief as the Decepticon below continued executing her comrades. Tearing her eyes away from the scene below she scanned the room she was in, the only other people remaining were the man in the tube and her assistant. She knew she had to get out of here, but she couldn't just leave him.

"Help me move him." She said to her assistant, who nodded and opened the glass casing. The two of them shared the weight of the unconscious man and hurried him out of the room, just in time to avoid a gigantic matte purple fist smashing through the glass, impacting in the wall inches from the exit.

Melissa and her assistant reached the exterior of the building. The sound of collapsing concrete and the scream of humans as they ran to the outside filled her with dread. The roof of the building gave way and an F-15 Eagle emerged, moving away at incredible speeds, until it was little more than a speck on the horizon.


	4. Chapter 4

Skywarp gasped for air and bolted upright, he clutched at his throat and felt the soft fleshy sensation of skin through fingers that weren't his. He looked down at his body, he was covered in one of the white coats the humans had been wearing. He held his hands up before his face and stared at them, they were still human hands.

"So you're awake." Came a voice from a nearby doorway, it was Professor Haven, her coat was gone and she was dressed in a simple sweater with black jeans. The clothing hugged her body shape leaving no question now as to her gender. Her hair, now hanging loose over her shoulders covered her ears and the arms of her glasses. She stood with her arms folded and scrutinized the man sitting on the floor.

Skywarp felt heat rush throughout his body, this feeling was odd but not entirely unpleasant. He took his eyes off the woman for a second and examined the room, it was almost completely bare, dusty grey walls and bare light bulb hanging from the ceiling.

"What happened? Why am I in this body?" Skywarp snarled and met the woman's cold gaze.

"I don't know the details." She said, looking away from his eyes, "After the incident the military moved in and took over the lab. We were all dismissed." She looked at him again, scrunching her mouth as she thought. "You really are that machine aren't you? I knew I should have handed you over to them when they arrived."

"I have to leave." Skywarp stood and immediately stumbled, falling back to his knees.

"Take it easy, Meat bag. That body is brand new and you're not made of metal any more." She smirked as she watched the snarl spread across his face.

Skywarp pushed himself back to his feet and ran at Melissa, he pounced on her knocking her to the floor. She shrieked and tried to get way but was powerless under his weight. Raising his right arm, he pointed it at her head. "I'm going to kill you, human. You know that don't you?"

"You're missing something." She pointed out.

Skywarp felt the heat rush to his face again, she was right, he was trying to point one of his arm mounted cannons at her, but naturally they weren't there. "Then how about I break you instead?!"

"'_Thank you for saving my life_',would suffice." She narrowed her eyes, showing absolutely no fear.

Skywarp eased up on her and let her go free. She pulled herself from under him and hoisted herself up using the door frame.

"Tell me what happened." Skywarp demanded, getting to his feet again, practising his balance as he did so.

"Doctor King took control of your body. Originally the plan was for him to switch into it only for a limited time to test its capabilities. The government wanted a portable weapon that they could download a soldier into while leaving their body safe at home. Safeguarding their life and increasing their fighting ability." She adjusted her glasses and hair as she spoke.

"And?" He asked, looking down at his legs switching his weight between them.

"I should have known from the way he was acting there was something wrong. Once he had your body the power went to his head. He killed so many of the people who worked on his project, just because he didn't like them." She looked more angry than sad, her feelings about King shone through far too well.

"So, where is my body now?" He asked, returning his gaze to her.

"...I don't know." She admitted.

"Then I need to go and find it. Since you did save my life, I'll let you go. Just don't get in my way again." Skywarp pushed passed her but paused suddenly half way down the hall.

"Do you even know where to start? Or how to get out of this building?" She smirked behind his back.

Skywarp didn't reply, he stood there for a few seconds desperately trying to think of a reply. He didn't want to let this female fleshling get the better of him.

"You'll find the world takes on a whole new perspective when you're that size." Her tone shifted into condescension as she approached his back.

Skywarp clenched his fist, she had him and he couldn't think of a single thing to rebuke her suggestion.

"I'll help you." She said.

Skywarp turned and eyed her curiously. "Why?" He asked simply.

"I want to study you." She closed her eyes and smiled sweetly.

Skywarp's expression turned sour. "I'm not your experiment."

"Sorry, maybe that's a bad way to put it. But all the same, I'll help you get your body back. Not for you though, I want that bastard to pay for what he did. So what do you say, can you bring yourself to accept help from a lowly human?" She offered her hand to him.

"What do you want me to do with that?" He asked looking at her hand.

"...Never mind." She folded her arms to her chest again. "So, what do you say?"

"Fine. You've got me at your mercy, are you happy?" He raised his arms and shrugged. "So what now?"

"Well," Melissa thought for a moment, "Where did you want to go?"

"Nemesis. Off the west coast, in the Pacific." Skywarp explained.

"I've heard about it. The Autobots declared it off limits after the Decepticons, er I mean after you abandoned it in two thousand five. It's scheduled to be destroyed but nobody has got around to it yet." She tapped her chin as she recited what she knew.

"Can you get me there?" He asked, becoming increasingly eager.

Melissa hummed and tapped her chin some more, "I can take you to the coast, and we could get some diving gear. But what do you plan to do about the Autobots patrolling that area?"

"I can deal with that. Just get me there." A grin spread on Skywarp's face, as the metaphorical gears in his head started turning.

-

The morning sun beat down on a dusty road leading out to the west coast. Skywarp glumly stared out of a window, watching the scenery as it passed. He and Melissa were travelling in a worn down little car, with barely enough room to accommodate the two of them. On the dash board of the car an antiquated multimedia player recorded the conversations they were having.

"So what can you tell me about how the war started?" Melissa asked, without taking her eyes off the road.

"This would be a lot easier if I could still fly." Skywarp groaned, he wasn't really interested in feeding her desire for knowledge. Why anyone would ask him these questions was an absurd notion in itself, he wasn't too well known for being a fountain of knowledge.

Melissa's face cracked and the car swerved suddenly as she lost her composure. "Answer the question!" She barked furiously, leaving Skywarp unintentionally grasping his seat from a new found source of fear.

"Fine, FINE! Just don't crash this broken down Autobot substitute." Skywarp regained his nerve and went over what he knew in his head. "This brain doesn't work as well as my old one, not that my old one was a work of art either. Or maybe this one works better, who knows."

"Was it damaged? If it was, maybe it explains why Doctor King suddenly went crazy." Melissa returned to the right part of the road.

"No, that's not it." Skywarp's face lit up, he had a good answer for this and wouldn't pass up the opportunity to impress someone. "It's hard coded in all of us, the Decepticons that is. We are weapons of war, we're not programmed to protect biological life like the Autobots. The Quintesson put a kind of '_war protocol_' instruction into us. It's separate from our core so it has an outside influence on our personalities, I know this for sure now that I'm not affected by it."

Skywarp turned to look at Melissa and continued to talk, looking very pleased with himself. "It's a simple instruction,'_Destroy the enemy and survive at all costs._' For the original Destron line it was just '_Destroy the enemy at all costs_', but they tended to sacrifice themselves to take out one target. Nobody wanted to buy weapons that destroyed themselves so easily, so they created us as the replacements. My guess is, you didn't know about that. So when King put himself in my body, he identified your people as the enemy and was compelled to destroy them."

"I wish we had known that before hand." Melissa looked sad, as if she wished he hadn't explained it.

Skywarp spat suddenly, it had just dawned on him what was probably going on. "That idiot is probably going to be rampaging around, attacking humans at random if he doesn't get control of himself. Then the Autobots are going to show up and take out MY body! Great! Just great!" He buried his face in his palm looking thoroughly depressed. "Next question?"

"Judging from what you just said, when your race liberated themselves from the Quintesson, the Decepticons had no enemy to fight and so after a brief peace they were compelled to reform their faction and wage war on the Autobots?" Melissa asked, she was quite good at filling in the blanks on her own.

"Yeah. So you see, even if we did beat them, it wouldn't stop there. More factions would form, we'd turn on each other until there was nothing left to fight. Sad, huh?" Skywarp almost laughed as he lamented the miserable fate that awaited his species. "There are exceptions though, Autobots who switched sides, and then there are cases like Thundercracker."

"Who is that?" Melissa asked.

"My brother." Skywarp replied, looking back at the passing scenery.

"Machines have a family system?" She looked a little confused at that statement.

"Not really, we don't have mothers or fathers or anything like that. But we were made together, actually there were three of us. We were the first of the Seekers, there were hundreds of us but six of us in total were special. The first three, Starscream, Thundercracker and myself. Megatron had Shockwave design the three of us and we were taken to Vector Sigma to receive our core program. After us, hundreds of Seekers were built, they weren't special like the three of us, they only had basic fighting abilities, but then after we got to Earth, Megatron had three more Seekers built and shipped to Earth over the Space Bridge. Shockwave named them Thrust, Dirge, and Ramjet. You could call those three brothers as well."

Melissa looked thoughtful at the explanation and continued with her questioning. "What made Thundercracker different?"

"He was one of the rare exceptions, I don't know if it was the strength of his core program or some construction fault. But he was never affected by the war protocol, in private he would always question the logic behind our war. Of course he would never say that around Megatron, he wasn't stupid."

"You talk about him in the past tense, was he killed in the war?" She enquired.

"Yeah. He was." Skywarp purposely avoided turning back to face her.

"I'm sorry." She said, feeling a bit ashamed.

Skywarp didn't acknowledge her apology, but continued staring at the window.

During the remainder of the journey the two of them talked on various subjects, the origins of the war, the energy crisis that led them to Earth, and the eventual defeat of the Decepticons despite their initial overwhelming power. The repetitious scenery eventually gave way to a city expanse just through the mountains spreading to the coast. The beautiful silver glow of the ocean sparkled in the sunlight, all things considered it was a beautiful sight from a human perspective but it could not hold its own to the beauty of the high skies.

"I just have one more question, um," Melissa sounded a little nervous like she was about to ask something probing, "Since you and the Autobots were all machines, I just want to know, what was the point of female Autobots and Decepticons?"

Skywarp rolled his eyes, "Some of the species the Quintesson sold their technology to had a matriarchal social structure, they wouldn't accept masculine looking machines to fight their wars and manage their societies. Naturally they catered to these ridiculous fleshling notions of assigning gender to a machine that can't reproduce."

Melissa seemed a bit offended but she couldn't argue with the logic. "I think it's romantic. But I guess I couldn't expect understanding from a killing machine."

After an awkward silence the little car pulled up in the lot of an equally run down little motel, sitting just off the coast. Skywarp surveyed the area, it was quiet, there was very little human activity besides what seemed to be an elderly maid half-heartedly cleaning the exterior of the building.

"We can stay here, I'll check us in then we can pick up some diving equipment. I'm guessing you don't have any money so I'll have to take care of that as well." Melissa sighed. "This is going to bankrupt me."

"Can't we just steal some?" Skywarp mused.

"Sure, if you think you can teleport in and out with your fleshling body." She narrowed her eyes and threw him a sarcastic glance.

"You're annoying." Skywarp spat again.

The two of them got out of the car and made their way inside the decrepit building.


	5. Chapter 5

The sun began to set over the ocean in the west, casting a warm golden glow over the silver waves. Skywarp watched it from the window of the tiny coastal motel. There really wasn't a way for him to express the frustration and the pleasure he was gaining from the experience in equal measure. He looked at the sky and reminisced about how it felt to be able to cruise uninhibited through that azure ocean. It was at times like this he understood Thundercracker's unmitigated contempt for all things that couldn't fly.

He was after all, now trapped on the surface unable to use his wings, unable to reach that sky. Condemned to cling to the earth like some flightless Autobot. No, lower than that, a human that scrambles about in the dirt was what he had become now.

Those feelings aside, he was equally ashamed to admit he had gotten used to this body. The daily human activities such as eating and sleeping were actually agreeable, and he had come to enjoy them. The tiny body also came with an entire range of sensation based emotions his original body wasn't capable of reproducing.

Pain he understood, if he was injured in his old body the sensation wasn't there but the reaction was. If something injured him he'd pull away, but in this body there were varying degrees of sensation that accompanied the reaction. Something that in his forgetfulness he always fell foul of, his human body simply wasn't as durable.

The other side of that coin, was the pleasure response of the human body. In truth he was afraid to experiment with all the various methods of destroying their bodies for the sake of pleasure that humans advertised unashamedly. He had found eating to be the most enjoyable, he would certainly miss that the most when he got his body back.

"_IF, I get my body back._" Skywarp thought to himself, in his typically cynical manner.

But at this point he felt that if he didn't get his body back, it wouldn't be so bad. "I must be crazy." He said out loud. "This body has made me weak."

He looked away from the window, turning his attention to Melissa, sleeping on the bed nearby. That choking feeling rushed over him again, it felt like it would consume his whole body if it persisted. His hand twitched at his side, what was it he was supposed to do? Did it want to strike her? Choke her? Drag her?

"_You're still thinking like a war machine._" He told himself, "_Just ignore it, you still need her for now. She's useful._"

He clenched his trembling fist and tried to force down this feeling. But he couldn't take his eyes off her. Maybe he could try touching her, just a little. Just a little. He crept over to the bed and sat on its side, looking her up and down. Her dark red hair obscured her eyes, her lips lay slightly parted and her shallow breathing caused them to quiver during breaths. The shape of her body beneath her clothes rose and fell in a figure of eight to her legs which disappeared beneath the light duvet. He felt his eyes helplessly wander to her chest and its pronounced curvature. Skywarp reached out his hand to brush the hair from her eyes when her head suddenly shifted back.

"W-What are you doing?" Melissa stammered, retreating from his hand.

Skywarp jumped involuntarily and fell backward from the side of the bed. Melissa sat upright and looked over the edge at him, laying dazed on the floor of the room.

"What were you trying to do?" She asked.

"How should I know?" He replied indignantly. "I'm new at this."

Her lips curled into a smile and she burst into laughter. "You, despite what you were, are truly the most adorable man I have ever met."

"Thanks. Glad to know I'm a success as a meat bag. Or are you just mocking me?" He picked himself up and sat back on the side of the bed.

"Yes. Sorry, I'm mocking you." She smirked.

Melissa scrutinized him for a moment, checking his upper body, then his lower body. "I see." She cleared her throat and smiled at him, her eyes were filled with pity and he could see it.

"Don't look at me like that." He snarled.

"Oh?! And it was fine for you to be ogling me like that?! Honestly, did you think I would be asleep with something like you in the room?" She snapped.

"What do you want from me?" He asked, quickly losing his patience.

She was quiet, thoughtful for a moment before shrugging. "I don't know. I was fascinated by the stories of the giant robots fighting their war on our planet ever since I was small. But I'm not old enough to remember the worst of the fighting, and I've learned so much from you in just a few days. I'm thankful, and if I'm honest, if you don't have that programming governing you as you say it does. You don't seem like you're a born killing machine, just a bitter, lonely man."

"What are you trying to say?" He replied.

"Well..." She scrunched up her lips, and placed her hand on his.

The sudden contact elevated the sensation he was feeling unto a completely different level. He could feel the heart beating stronger in his chest and blood pumping furiously around his body, but he couldn't act on it, the impulse was there but he was frozen in place by fear, irrational human fear that he just couldn't deal with.

She smiled upon seeing his reaction and spoke in a calming voice. "I'll let you in on a little secret, I don't think too differently from you, you know. I think that we as a race are a pitifully self absorbed people that would sooner crush one of his fellows for their own glory than build a relationship built on love and trust. I've known a lot of men who wanted to take me under their power simply because they felt I should belong to them. I wasn't much more than an object in their eyes, so I resisted. Humans are just like the Decepticons in every way, except, I don't think you have a choice in the matter. You were programmed to be the way you are, where as we could have been so much more. That's why you're better than us, even if you are still inherently evil."

Skywarp stuttered as he tried to formulate a response to this woman's illogical rambling, he hadn't asked for this explanation of her feelings so why was it being given to him. "I still don't understand."

"Ahh..." She sighed in frustration, "And that's what gets me so angry! Now that you're stuck in that body you're completely innocent, sure you still have the knowledge and the attitude of something born to do evil but your personality is missing that component. If you didn't have all those memories of death and destruction you would be perhaps the first pure adult I've ever met. Even when you're human, you're still better than us."

"Well, we always knew that." He managed a laugh, as his confidence slowly reasserted itself. In the light of receiving praise he found it somewhat easier to deal with the humans' speeches, he felt he could even get used to it, if it was always like this. "But I still don't understand you."

"We're going to get your body back, and when we do I'll probably never see you again. You may even decide to do away with me when you're back under the control of that programming. So... basically, what I want, is to do something for you, for me as well, before that happens. While it's still possible to do so." Her cheeks flushed red and she looked straight down.

"I still don't-" He was silenced as her head suddenly lunged forward and met with his.

Her lips pressed against him, and slowly eased his own apart. She drew back leaving him in stunned silence. "If you don't understand. Then I'll guide you." Grasping his hand tightly she drew him into her embrace, and in her embrace he remained, until he could no longer feel anything at all.


	6. Chapter 6

The morning came, and with it Skywarp and Melissa sat on the edge of a deserted dock. Suited up in uncomfortable black diving equipment. Melissa looked out over the ocean through a pair of binoculars scanning for anything on the water.

"I see one Autobot," Melissa reported, "It's sitting out there, probably looking out for any activity around Nemesis."

"I thought as much," Skywarp replied, he put his hand out for the binoculars. "Let me see it."

She handed the binoculars to him and he scanned around quickly to locate it. "There. It's Seaspray. That weakling is all they left to guard it? The Decepticons really must be in bad shape."

"He may have been a weakling to you, but what do you intend to do about it now?" She asked.

"I told you, I'd deal with it. I made arrangements while you were gathering this stuff." He smirked. "Just wait a little while longer, it should be starting soon."

"What should be starting?" She looked a little worried.

Before he could open his mouth again, there was an almighty explosion from behind. A few miles away a plume of black smoke curled into the air, and the shouts of human voices echoed in the distance. Melissa looked back in stunned silence before gathering herself to berate Skywarp.

"What did you do?!" She demanded.

"Relax. I didn't put any flesh bags in danger. I knew you'd get upset about it." He snorted. "I just used pieces of your vehicle to explode part of a derelict building."

She gawked at him, absolutely stunned. "Y-You crazy ass-hole!"

"I said I didn't put anyone in danger. I'm not as stupid as some Decepticon analysts would have you believe. And if I'm right-" As he spoke the Autobot hovercraft approached the shore, transformed and took off running to the source of the explosion. "-Which I am. We're clear to move in." He looked extremely proud of himself, though Melissa could hardly believe she'd been so nice to this person who was clearly crazy.

"So, let's go." He fitted his equipment and threw himself into the waiting ocean, eager to get back to his home away from home.

It was quite dark near the level where Nemesis was embedded in the ocean floor, the various structures surrounding it were damaged, many of them flooded, but the ship itself seemed to be intact. Skywarp led Melissa to the underbelly of the gargantuan vessel to an indented panel with an electronic lock next to it. It was quite large, each button was the size of a human head, Skywarp shifted his weight back and forth between each one but the sequence didn't need to be repeated. The main panel slid back and lighting on the interior flickered into life.

Skywarp swam through the gap and surfaced in one of the cold metal rooms, Melissa wasn't far behind him. Skywarp removed his mask and goggles and took a deep breath.

"You don't need to worry about the air. We had plenty of human captives in here so we had to install human life support. I was against it but Megatron had his reasons." Skywarp playfully tugged on her goggles, stopping short of snapping them back in her face. Ordinarily he would have done so, but he felt it was no longer appropriate. '_Yet another sign of weakness. Oh well._' He mused internally.

"So what are we looking for here?" Melissa asked, eager to learn more.

"I was originally sent back here to bring help to rescue Megatron. But I don't think reflector would still be here. The Autobots probably kicked him out the moment they chased us off Cybertron." Skywarp bit his bottom lip in frustration. "I'm hoping, we can find a deactivated Seeker, or something, anything we can use to fight your boss, and haul my body back here."

"He's not my boss. And what do you plan to do IF you get the body back here?" She asked.

"I'll take it one step at a time." Skywarp replied, his full confidence showing through.

They made their way through the cavernous hallways, computers shimmered intermittently and lighting blinked on and off, not having been maintained for many years.

"There has to be something around here." Skywarp scanned the area frantically, searching for something useful, but there was nothing, it seemed that he'd be trapped after all.

Without warning a beam of purple energy streamed by, narrowly missing them and detonating in a doorway behind them. Melissa let out a frightened yelp and ducked for cover behind Skywarp. Skywarp scanned the darkness trying to see where it had come from, but he didn't need to look long. The clash of metal on metal sounded all around them as biped footsteps approached. There was something coming, lurking in the darkness back there.

"I was hoping there would be an Autobot for me to destroy! But it's just two miserable flesh creatures. How disappointing." The arrogance in the voice was unmistakeable, Skywarp snarled and braced himself to knock Melissa out of harms way should another attack come.

Out of the shadows approached a white Seeker with a red breastplate, its red eyes shone through the darkness until its face was completely visible. Without a doubt, it was Starscream, of all the Decepticons that could have been hiding right under the Autobots' noses, it had to be Starscream.

"Time to make peace with your maker! Earth germs!" Starscream shrieked as he readied his cannon for another shot.

"Wait! Starscream! It's me! Skywarp!" Skywarp yelled up at the former air commander.

Starscream's eyes narrowed as he examined the little human who was claiming to be a Seeker, before he filled the room with sadistic laughter. "Aren't you just a little too short to be Skywarp?"

"It is me! I was put in this body by the humans! I need your help to get my real body back!" Skywarp hated every second, but he had no choice but to beg Starscream to spare him.

"You have ten seconds to convince me!" Starscream smiled broader his cannon charging up for a shot that would vaporize them instantly.

"We were born together! You, me, Thundercracker! Who else could it be?" Skywarp was sweating, he had to think of something better, something that would prove it that no human or Autobot could possibly know.

Starscream continued to count, slowly, savouring every moment. Skywarp knew very little he said could influence Starscream's decision.

"If you do it, I'll forgive you for leaving your brothers to die!" Skywarp shouted out, though he didn't really mean it.

Starscream stopped counting and looked down at the two little humans he could easily crush. The thought went through his mind, that it couldn't hurt to humour them for a little while, he had been stuck down here brooding for months with no clear plan to get out. "Okay, then tell me your story." Starscream folded his arms and waited for Skywarp to explain himself.

Skywarp explained everything that happened leading to his capture and imprisonment in a human body. Starscream looked fascinated by the story, but his ultimate decision would still be a mystery to Skywarp.

"Interesting. Assuming all this is true, Skywarp. We don't need this human any more do we?" Starscream aimed his cannon at them again. "Stand aside and let me vaporize it."

"Wait!" Skywarp shouted without thinking. But he had to think of something fast, something that would spare her. But what was he thinking? Starscream was right, they didn't need her. Still, the feelings inside him now wouldn't allow it. "She has... information. I brought her here because she could be useful."

"Useful? How?" Starscream demanded.

"She was working for the human government. She knows the locations of all the Decepticons the humans and Autobots have imprisoned on Earth. If you help me get my body back, she can help us free them, and we can build a new army. Then you can have what you always wanted, Starscream. I'll help you become ruler of all that you survey." That was it, appealing to his vanity. Skywarp had him and he knew it, the puppeteer was so easily made the puppet.

The glint in Starscream's eye reappeared and he lowered his weapon. "Very well. But on one condition. I'll play along and take you to get your body back, but she has to stay here just to make sure you don't try anything."

"Fine." Skywarp breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to Melissa and whispered to her. "I'm sorry, I did my best."

"I know, thank you." She whispered back. Melissa walked forward and addressed Starscream. "Lord Starscream," she started, following Skywarp's example in appealing to his vanity. "The equipment that's needed to restore Skywarp's body is located in the building we used to experiment on him. I know how it works and I need to be there to operate it when we save him."

Starscream looked disappointed, he had been looking forward to tormenting the human woman but he could not pass up this opportunity, at this point he may never get another. "Very well." Starscream transformed on the spot, into the white form of an F-15 Eagle. "Both of you get in. We'll go and find this, 'King'. And show him how a real Decepticon uses that body."

Skywarp and Melissa approached Starscream and climbed into his cockpit. The Decepticon jet powered up his engines and manoeuvred to the opening access panel Skywarp had entered from, and plunged into the ocean. The jet adjusted his angle and begin to barrel towards the surface. Breaking the water, the three of them began their search for the rogue usurper, King.


	7. Chapter 7

Skywarp eagerly observed the rapidly passing ground beneath Starscream. They were so close now, just a little longer and with a little luck he'd have his body back. Soon enough, without having to leave the city limits they happened upon the Doctor himself, standing amidst smoking buildings and surrounded by four Autobots. Laser fire and the crash of metal on concrete burnt through the air. King was attempting to fight all four opponents on equal ground, not making use of his teleportation ability. Perhaps he didn't even know he had it, Skywarp surmised. The only thing Skywarp knew for sure though, was that they had to get him out of there before they damaged his body beyond repair.

"This should be easy enough." Starscream's confidence resounded in his voice. He adjusted his course and barrelled straight for the black Seeker. Starscream opened fire with a long stream from his null ray, which met its target in a matter of seconds. King cried out and froze on the spot, his beaten body then toppled and fell gracelessly to the concrete city street below. The Autobots looked bewildered as to why one Seeker would be attacking another, and ceased their assaults, perhaps believing one had switched allegiance. Starscream transformed in mid flight and dug his feet into the ground skidding to a gradual halt next to the disabled body of Doctor King. Sparks flew and concrete dust flew up into the air before he completely stopped, leaving a convenient smokescreen between him and the opposing Autobots.

"Wish I'd thought of using that move." Skywarp said, jealously.

"If only you had my finesse." Starscream replied.

"Starscream!" Came the startled realization from one of the nearby Autobots.

"Die, Autobots!" Starscream's voice screeched and he fired off a few brief shots from his null ray.

"Leave the Autobots!" Skywarp yelled frantically, "We need to get him back now!"

"Fine. I'll save this fun for another day." Starscream scooped up the unconscious body of Doctor King and slung it over his back. Starscream ran back through his smokescreen and transformed once again, the body of the black seeker hanging limp, but swaying as it was battered by the passing air currents.

Despite the accident that had taken place there, there was no sign of Autobot activity at the facility. It seemed that the government wanted to keep things under wraps after all. Starscream swooped down low dropping King inside the building via the whole he had made on his earlier exit. There were shouts and screams as humans went running in all directions, and military personnel armed their weapons and opened fire.

"Be careful not to damage the equipment." Skywarp noted from within the cockpit.

"Thank you for stating the obvious." Starscream replied angrily.

The white seeker swung his gigantic fist at the attacking humans, smashing them where they stood or knocking them to the ground or into nearby walls. It didn't take him long to put down all the human resistance.

Opening the canopy compartment in his chest, Starscream allowed Skywarp and Melissa into the building, before picking up King and placing him on the platform where Skywarp had been imprisoned.

"Just connect that machine to his head." Melissa pointed to the apparatus used to remove Skywarp's mind from his body. Starscream grudgingly obeyed, and placed the machine into its correct position on King.

Melissa took Skywarp to the control room situated above the main lab, and helped him inside the input tube King had occupied before the experiment.

"This is goodbye then." She smiled at him.

"Wait, we don't have to do this." Skywarp protested, "We could just remove him and be done with it." There was no self doubt now, he must have seriously lost his mind.

"No. We do have to do this. Thank you for everything." She locked him inside the tube and turned to the control panel facing the shattered window.

Skywarp hit the interior of the tube, trying to force his way out. But to no avail, his cries didn't make it through the abnormally thick glass.

In the lab below they could see Starscream suddenly look up, raise his arms and begin firing through the shattered ceiling. Skywarp assumed the Autobots had followed them here, and there were probably more on the way. He looked over at Melissa, who was working frantically to complete the procedure in time. Unknown to the two of them however, the black seeker below had started to stir. As the machinery hummed into life, King regained motor function throughout his body, and staggered away from the unfastened restraints. He could see Melissa inside the control room and his mouth twisted into a sadistic grin. As the machine reached the peak of its operating potential, Skywarp watched in abject horror as a matte purple fist was flung through the broken window, slamming the helpless human girl against the opposite wall. And then, all was black. He felt all the human sensations disappear as his mind pulled through an unknown void. But all too soon, his vision returned.

Diagnostic analyses filled his mind, he was a machine again, but he wasn't happy. Skywarp drew back his hand, to watch Melissa's broken form drop to the floor. He was too stunned to speak, what could he possibly say. He knew the emotion he should be feeling if he were human but his body just wasn't capable, but he wanted to feel it, he wanted to feel it so badly.

Melissa stirred, blood pouring from her mouth, nose and ears. Skywarp reached out and gently picked her up, cradling her in his outstretched palm. She looked up at him, her tears mixing with her blood. She coughed and spluttered with the effort of trying to breathe and trying to speak.

"Is- it- you?" She stammered between coughs.

"Yes. It's me. Hold on, I'll fly you to a human hospital. So don't die on me just yet."

"Forget it." She said, breathing a little easier as her body functions began to slow. "There is no chance for someone with my wounds to recover."

Skywarp looked over at the tubes inside the control room.

"D- Don't even think about it." She spluttered again. "I'd rather die than go inside that contraption."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" He asked.

"Stay with me until I'm gone." She replied. "I just wish it hadn't turned out this way. I wanted to study you a little more." She started to laugh, which turned into a painful hacking cough. "It- It may not have lasted long. But I'm glad I met you. Maybe I'm saying this only because I'm dying but I'll say it anyway.... I love you." She closed her eyes, and lay there with laboured breathing.

Skywarp didn't know what to do. Was he supposed to repeat that? That was the accepted standard amongst humans wasn't it, mutual expression of love? But there was just one problem, he didn't love her. He may have loved her had he still been in a human body but now his programming identified her merely as a target to protect, albeit a high priority target, but it was far from the emotional mess he had felt before.

'_Ridiculous._' Skywarp thought. He simply stared at her, like she was babbling nonsense that meant nothing to anyone.

But all the same, Melissa smiled as she lay there. Her lips parted and she mouthed quietly. "Go. Don't let them get you."

Skywarp laid her down on the floor of the room, a bitter feeling of failure lingering in his mind. He turned his attention to the tube he had first emerged from, inside was a man resembling a younger Doctor King. He was laughing, admiring the human body he had gained in place of Skywarp's, one free of disability and old age. Skywarp couldn't accept this, and there was one emotion he had left that was in full effect. Pure unbridled rage.

Skywarp picked up the human whose elation turned into sudden horror as he realized his plight. He may have been protesting, Skywarp really wasn't listening though. His mind was blinded by one unstoppable compulsion. _KILL_.

Skywarp closed his fist around Doctor King, there was a short sharp yelp as his body was compressed and exploded, ending his brief rebirth for all eternity.

Melissa smiled, satisfaction spread across her paling face. "Thank you." She mouthed.

Skywarp touched her with his clean hand, she looked at him, her eyes sparkling with what may have been regret, affection, or any number of human emotions he didn't understand. All too soon however, those eyes lost their light, the blood stopped flowing from her damaged body, and she was quiet.

In that instant Skywarp thought he could feel a slight tingling sensation in the finger that was touching her tiny body. But he disregarded it, this body didn't process touch in that way, it was probably just a memory.

Skywarp stood, and turned away from the broken glass, he'd seen enough. The sound of laser fire grew quieter. Starscream must have been leading them away. There was no point in staying here then. Preparing himself for departure, Skywarp stole one last glance back at the shattered control room, before disappearing back into the dimensional gap.


	8. Chapter 8

Skywarp sat on the edge of a cliff face in broody silence, looking over the dusty desert expanse in the valley below. Behind him Starscream stood tapping his foot impatiently.

"Why do you care about the fate of one miserable fleshling so much?" Starscream asked in an irritated tone.

"Don't call her that." Skywarp said without turning to face his brother.

Starscream grinned and stopped tapping his foot. "Fine. But don't forget your promise, Skywarp. I have plans, and we have much to do. Since we lost our source of information we'll have to do a little research."

Skywarp snarled and got to his feet, turning to face Starscream. "Let's do it then. What are your orders?"

"You're going to Autobot city." Starscream smiled.

Skywarp stared at him for a second while he ran the idea over in his mind. "What do you want me to do there?"

"Sneak in and look for our poor, incarcerated brethren. Offer them a chance at freedom, for a price of course." Starscream grinned maniacally. "While you're busy doing that. I'm going to pay a visit to an old friend, if he's still alive."

"A suicide mission for me, while you visit a friend? Forget it."

"What's the matter, Skywarp? Has the stealth specialist lost his nerve? Perhaps you've forgotten, you gave your word. Your body for your obedience."

Skywarp felt the rage building inside him, but he dared not attempt to betray Starscream at this point. Even though he had every confidence he could defeat Starscream in a straight out fight, there were too many variables out in the open. And Starscream's brain would be able to take advantage of every one of them, whereas his couldn't.

"Fine." Skywarp acknowledged, bitterly.

"Well then. Good luck, _Brother_." Starscream sneered, his voice full of contempt. He turned and ran off the edge of the cliff face, transforming as he did so, and took off into the skies.

Skywarp looked down at his hand, it was still stained red, and pieces of Doctor King were still clinging to him in dried matted piles of flesh and blood. His hand flashed with purple energy, and the remaining evidence of that man's existence disintegrated into nothing. Skywarp stood and looked into the distance where Starscream had disappeared.

"You're next." He said, his mouth twisting into a snarl. Before he turned on his heel and propelled himself off the ground into the air returning to the form of the sleek black jet fighter. Arcing around to the direction of Autobot city, Skywarp's engines exploded into life, but were all of a sudden silent once again as he vanished into the void.

-

It was dark inside his cell, the Autobots had not seen fit to grant him light, they didn't think he deserved it. After all, in the millions of years the energy seeking forces of both sides lay dormant on Earth, he had been responsible for the methodical annihilation of Autobots all over Cybertron.

But now he was on Earth as well, having witnessed the near destruction of the Decepticon empire overnight, and the eradication of thousands of Decepticon warriors by Unicron. Shockwave had not put up a struggle when the Autobots arrived at Decepticon Headquarters to take control of the planet and the space bridge.

From time to time, the guards gave him titbits of information. Usually only to taunt him, for that reason he couldn't be sure how much of it was true or false, but the Autobots had little reason left to lie to him. He already knew the once proud forces of the Decepticon empire had been broken by Unicron. It had intrigued him however when he began to hear whispers of Galvatron's return. And it had surprised him even more, when the sound of battle rang through the thick walls of his cell but were all too soon silenced. A few days after the guards had told him Galvatron had indeed come back, but was defeated again and forced back into hiding with an even further reduced force.

Without control of Vector Sigma they could not manufacture any more warriors for the cause. Even the drone army of Seekers he had created for Megatron had been vanquished in the battle against Unicron. They had been well and truly defeated after coming so close to victory.

The door to Shockwave's cell slid open, and light flooded inside prompting Shockwave's single yellow eye to flash into life. His head turned towards the door and surveyed the figures standing in the doorway. Shockwave himself was restrained in the most undignified manner, his body stretched and shackled to the floor and ceiling.

The stark white form of Ultra Magnus stood in the doorway, without his armour it was apparent he had been built from the same blueprints used to create Optimus Prime. It was a sign of the times, with the absence of major conflict in such a long time even this stalwart soldier had decided to discard his armour as unnecessary.

Shockwave said nothing, he simply watched Ultra Magnus' movements. It would be futile to speak and logic dictated he simply remain silent until an opportunity to get away presented itself. Even though one had not in so long, he remained vigilant that one day his chance to escape this place would come.

"The new senate has passed down its decision." Began Ultra Magnus. "Shockwave, Sub-Commander of the Decepticon occupational forces. You have been found guilty of war crimes on Cybertron and are summarily sentenced to be executed by way of the removal and destruction of your central core." Ultra Magnus face remained calm and unreadable beneath his faceplate. "Do you have anything to say?"

Shockwave remained silent, he felt no emotion over this decision but quickly scanned through his knowledge of Cybertronian law. Once finished, he remained silent, he had not found anything that would prolong his existence. He had already appealed the decision once before and it was not possible to do so again.

"Very well. You will be transported back to Cybertron under armed guard once the Space Bridge is aligned with Earth." Ultra Magnus paused briefly, he wanted to say more but as a professional soldier he dared not.

He wanted to let Shockwave know exactly what he was thinking. How much he hated him for what he did on Cybertron. So many innocent civilian Autobots had been crushed by Shockwave's drone army. And under his guidance, Thrust, Dirge and Ramjet had destroyed so many members of his own resistance force. While the Constructicons as Devastator had wiped out every last remaining Autobot settlement. Before Megatron had them moved to Earth, then things got better, but the damage was already done.

Magnus turned away from Shockwave, the door closing behind him leaving Shockwave once again immersed in Darkness.


	9. Chapter 9

Sean Berger Junior slept soundly, alone in his oversized bed. He looked nothing like his father, some would have called that a blessing. His father had been the most hated man on the planet. Under the direction of Megatron he had led a relentless smear campaign against the Autobots. With the immense power of his media assets he had convinced a gullible race, consumed with fear of the giant robots that had invaded their planet, that they were evil and had to be exiled or destroyed.

To make amends for those actions, Berger Junior had used the assets he inherited from his father aid the government in building and staffing facilities to keep captured Decepticons imprisoned, and consequently dispose of them with the approval of the Autobots. It had never occurred to him though. He had been hailed as a hero, a man worthy of praise unlike his father. But he knew deep down, people only saw his father's mistakes when they looked at him.

The peace of the night was short lived, Sean Berger awoke to the sound of concrete and steel being smashed, and his eyes opened just in time to see a gigantic sky blue hand reach towards him and close around him, dragging him helplessly from the room.

"You'll do." Starscream's voiced sounded gleeful as he pulled the human into his field of view.

Sean Berger looked horrified, how could this possibly be happening to him? "W-what's going on?! Let me go! Get away from me! Please! Please don't hurt me!"

"Harming you would be a waste of my time." Starscream stated. "I have a job for you Sean Berger."

"I'm not doing anything for you! Because of you...! Because of you things, my father died in prison! A traitor!"

"That's because he was a traitor. A fool that lusted for power without the strength or the intelligence to back up his desire." Starscream smirked and held the tiny man closer. "I'm sure however, that you're different. To live with your father's shame and still be so well off, you must indeed be a man of honour. That's why I've come to you."

"What do you want from me?!" Berger screamed, struggling uselessly in Starscream's grip.

"It's very simple." Said Starscream. "I want you to release, every Decepticon you are holding prisoner. If you do not, and if you inform the Autobots about this request I will execute your family, and then I will execute you."

Starscream dropped the struggling man to the ground, and pointed the barrel of his null ray directly at his head. "Do you understand me, human?" Starscream grinned again, "Tomorrow, at exactly oh-three hundred hours of your Earth time I will arrive at your facility. I expect their restraints to be lifted and them to be fully fuelled at that moment. If they are not, do you understand what will happen to you and your family?"

Berger nodded slowly, he could feel a damp warmth spreading between his legs and he stuttered a response which could vaguely be considered an agreement.

"Good. Remember, oh-three hundred. Or I will start with your pretty little flesh bag children." Starscream laughed and turned away from Berger, jumping to the air and transforming again. In a matter of seconds he was gone, leaving the petrified man shivering in the cold night air.

-

Skywarp appeared inside an abandoned corridor of Autobot City. So far he had avoided triggering their alarm system. The short jumps he needed to move around the city required little energy and were an ideal way to avoid security devices placed periodically throughout the structure.

He ducked close to the wall and peered around the corner. The brig wasn't too far now, he had no idea how many Decepticons would be there of if it were even possible to free them. Even one ally to eventually use against Starscream would be worth the effort, but he would never lower himself to begging help from the Autobots. He would get him, in his own time, in his own way.

"Did you hear they finished construction of the new senate building?" Came a voice from the opposite end of the corridor.

"I can't deal with that now." Came the reply.

"I'm just glad Optimus Prime retained control of our new military." Came a third voice. "But why did he refuse a seat on the senate?"

"I figure politics just isn't his scene." The first voice stated again.

"I'm glad Shockwave is finally getting what he deserves. Will you be taking him back to Cybertron personally, Ultra Magnus?" The third voice asked.

"Yes. If I'm not present at the the execution, it would be an insult to all the good soldiers and civilians who died because I couldn't protect them from him." Magnus stated. "I'll be leaving the investigation into Starscream being sighted on Earth to you two."

The voices were getting closer, which prompted Skywarp to sink back into the shadows. He remained poised to teleport away should they turn to his direction, but he wanted to avoid giving them suspicion that someone had infiltrated their city. "_Shockwave is here._" He thought to himself. "_If there is anyone who will refuse to bow down to Starscream, it's him._"

The voices drifted on down the corridor, he had managed to avoid giving himself away for now. And he had attained a clear target as well. He crouched again, and teleported deeper into the structure. The light was getting dimmer at this point, the walls were dull and personnel were becoming sparse. He could see the outline of a prison complex, not too far from his current position.

"_That must be it._" He teleported again, just inside the complex itself. Guards stood on either side of a long control console, and a single Autobot watched displays of each cell. Each one was displayed through a night vision camera.

Skywarp was through sneaking at this point. He didn't have the capacity to think of a way to free his comrades without alerting those guards. So he had no choice. Raising both his arms he fired a rapid stream of searing laser fire into the backs of each of the guards. They toppled unceremoniously to the ground. The Autobot behind the console looked understandably confused as to what just happened, but Skywarp didn't give him time to raise the alarm. He teleported again, appearing directly in front of the stunned Autobot, using his leg to kick him hard, sending him smashing into the wall, and once again raising his cannon to land a pinpoint shot right into the Autobot's cranium, leaving a smoking hole where the Autobot's core system should have been.

The guard nearest the console crawled towards it, reaching for the controls, desperately wanting to sound the alarm. His arm outstretched he was inches away from accomplishing his goal when Skywarp's foot came down, smashing his hand into pieces against the cold steel floor.

"Die, Autobot scrap." Skywarp fired again, blowing apart the head of the Autobot whose hand he crushed. Before walking over to the final guard, crushing his head underfoot.

His satisfaction at his handiwork quickly turned to guilt. He thought of Melissa's face looking down at him, her head shaking disapprovingly. He shook off the thought, becoming frustrated at his increasing weakness. They were Autobots, they were the enemy. It wasn't personal, it was war. They were weak, and they were in the way, that was all there was to it. Just ants under the wheels of power.

Skywarp looked down at the console, controls for each cell were labelled under each display. Most of the cells were empty, but he checked the occupied monitors from left to right. Wildrider, Shockwave, Dead End, Thrust and Blitzwing.

"Not my first choices." He pulled down on the sturdy levers under each of the occupied monitors. Behind him the sounds of cell doors sliding upwards rang out, ending with a satisfying thud. Unexpectedly however, alarms began to sound throughout the city. Skywarp cursed his luck and dragged the smoking bodies of the two fallen Autobot guards by their feet.

Hauling them down the corridor toward the cells he strode proudly into the cell that housed Shockwave, and tossed one of the corpses at his feet.

"I got some energon for you." Skywarp smirked, using his weaponry to cut Shockwave loose from the bonds restraining him.

Shockwave stared at Skywarp with his single emotionless eye. "We must free the other Decepticons." Shockwave stated, not pausing to thank Skywarp. He reached down and tore the torso casing from the fallen guard, extracting his internal power supply.

"You're welcome." Skywarp expected nothing less, and proceeded to drag the other corpse into Blitzwing's cell.

Within minutes, the six Decepticons were gathered outside the prison complex, as the sound of running footsteps grew louder.

"We may not have sufficient power to enable our escape." Shockwave stated, taking immediate charge of the situation.

"What's the point in escaping?" Dead End droned miserably from the rear of the group. "We're only going to die for the effort."

"Our best course of action is to divide the attacking forces." Shockwave stated. "We will divide into three teams of two. Skywarp and Thrust will travel due north, using their superior speed to draw off the majority of their forces. Blitzwing and I being the least mobile will travel due east, allowing the fastest possible escape. Breakdown and Dead End shall use their reinforced structures to run interference due west before escaping due north in the path created by Skywarp and Thrust. I am now transmitting encrypted coordinates for rendezvous."

The other five Decepticons dared not challenge Shockwave's instructions. None of them were capable of coming up with a better plan for their survival. Though they couldn't help but feel pangs of anger at Shockwave's decision to give himself the fastest escape through eastern wall, Blitzwing however, felt nothing but relief.

They wouldn't have had time to issue any complaints even if they had intended to. A contingent of armed Autobots burst into the spacious courtyard and opened fire at the group of Decepticons. Shockwave and Blitzwing instantly took off towards the Eastern wall while the remaining four shot back at their pursuers.

"YEAAH! LET'S GO, DEAD END!" Wildrider blurted out, throwing his arms up in the air. Stooping to transform he sped off toward the group of Autobots smashing straight through them and speeding off into the west.

"Oh, I just know we won't survive this." Dead End shook his head and transformed following his partner's example and running over several Autobots before disappearing into the distance. As Shockwave had predicted, the rear of the group turned on their heels and pursued the deranged and depressed Stunticons.

Once Shockwave and Blitzwing were no longer visible Skywarp and Thrust looked at each and bolted due north as instructed. Transforming and taking off into their established territory they sped northbound to their designated target.

Without warning, a heavy shot of enemy fire seared upwards and struck Thrust square in the underbelly. The VTOL jet gave a helpless cry and stuttered to a halt careering back towards the earth, transforming to avoid landing on his head. Glancing to the rear Skywarp could see Ultra Magnus' smoking weapon as he approached the downed body of Thrust, ready to deliver a death blow to the disabled robot.

Skywarp continued onwards. It wasn't his concern, Thrust was expendable, he only had to worry about his own safety. He considered teleporting away, putting some real distance between him and the pursuing Autobots. Before he could however, he saw it again, the image in the back of his mind of Melissa's disapproving stare glaring down at him. The compulsion from the war protocol to flee and the gnawing frustration of the image that was torturing him prevented him from taking decisive action. Skywarp slowed and banked slightly to consider the action once more.

"I'm going to regret this. I know it." He banked sharply, barrelling down on his fallen companion and the imposing white form of Ultra Magnus. He had been seen however and Magnus turned the barrel of his gun on Skywarp. A tremendous volley of energy flew out toward Skywarp and looked like it was going to cause massive damage if they collided at that speed. But the shot never met its target.

With a high-pitched snap Skywarp appeared directly in front of Ultra Magnus, his rocket propelled body slamming into the white robot, knocking him onto his back. Magnus however wasn't going to stay down so easily. He let off another shot from his rifle destroying one of Skywarp's primary engines. The jet transformed to regain some mobility and skidded to a halt on his knees several feet from Magnus' head.

"Uncharacteristically noble for a Decepticon." Magnus spat, as he rolled onto his front firing another volley at Skywarp who used the force from his remaining engine to dodge to the side. "You sneak in here, and you free the prisoner I've waited four million years to bring to justice. You're going to regret you didn't run while you had the chance."

Skywarp snarled and raised his fists, seemingly forgetting the weapons attached to his upper arms. Luckily for Skywarp, Magnus' cumbersome and energy consuming rifle was out of power. Both of them discarding their distance weaponry in favour of melee combat circled each other briefly before lunging into a flurry of fists and feet.

Skywarp however was physically inferior to Ultra Magnus, even without his armour. Skywarp struggled to put up a fight and soon found himself flying backwards, colliding with his fallen comrade, as Ultra Magnus advanced on him.

"Give it up. And come quietly. If you help us track down Shockwave we may give you a nice easy sentence spending the rest of your life in prison." Magnus said calmly, reclaiming his rifle from the ground.

"Guess I'm not a match for you after all." Skywarp grinned and held tight onto Thrust's immobile frame, looking directly into Magnus' bright blue eyes. "The noble thing to do would be to comply and submit when I'm defeated, right?"

Magnus said nothing, and stopped advancing on Skywarp for a moment, before realization dawned upon him. "No you don't!" He shouted, lunging toward Skywarp trying to grab him before he completed his silent preparations.

"So long, Soldier-Boy." Skywarp's grin turned to a smirk worthy of his brother's arrogant trademark. He and Thrust disappeared with another high pitched snap, leaving Magnus with his silent unchannelled rage.


	10. Chapter 10

Despite his swaggering, confident exterior, Starscream's mind was tortured with mixed thoughts of vengeance and conquest. Ever since he'd gotten his body back from Unicron he had felt this way. Or maybe it had been before that, perhaps when Galvatron had first blown him to pieces. He had stopped caring about leading the Decepticons at this point, though he still shared the lofty goal that Megatron once had, to impose his will upon everything, to dominate and control the known universe. But that goal seemed like a far away dream at times, superseded by the desire for revenge.

He wanted to take Galvatron to pieces, slowly, savouring the moment, and when it was done to send all those Decepticons who had trodden on his pride with him. Skywarp couldn't be counted on to oppose Galvatron, Starscream knew that. He needed someone whose ambition for power rivalled his own, someone who would grasp firmly at the chance to replace Galvatron. In retrospect, getting his body back was the worst possible choice he could have made, he regretted it now, but he could have left the Decepticons in ruins. Jumping from body to body, causing havoc, leaving no trace of his presence, he could have destroyed them from the inside. Now it was too late, and he needed another way.

Starscream watched a large building intently from his vantage point within a nearby wood. It was nearing the time for his pawn to sacrifice himself for the safety of his family. The building itself was nothing out of the ordinary, Starscream wouldn't have expected it to be a facility where the human government had been keeping Decepticons. No doubt the human female Skywarp had become attached to during his ordeal knew about it, it would likely have been part of the information she would provide so Starscream didn't feel too much had been lost with her '_unfortunate_' demise.

Ironically for the son of Sean Berger it was the effort to publicize his efforts to repair the damage done to his family name by his father, that had led Starscream back to manipulate him. One would have called the situation tragic, others would have called it comedy. Starscream was naturally the one laughing.

Inside the building itself, Sean Berger Junior was understandably distressed. His face pale, his clothes untidy, and his hair unkempt. Beads of sweat ran down his face and neck as he weighed the options open to him. If he informed the Autobots, and begged them to move his family to safety before moving against Starscream, he may have a chance of saving face. But if he didn't meet the demands by the time specified he may already be prepared to harm them instantly.

Armed guards paced back and forth, and more researchers in white garbs paced back and forth checking monitors and discussing pieces of Decepticons they had dismantled. Two fifty foot doors stood on either side of a raised console. A short, balding, bespectacled man sat at this console, the light from a multitude of monitors reflected in his glasses.

Sean knew that this console was the key to everything, that set of controls could open every door in the complex and adjust the flow of power to the occupants of every cell. It was used to keep their prisoners perpetually unconscious, lingering on the verge between life and death. He knew every occasion in which the power to one of those prisoners had been drained, their bodies dismantled and experimented on to ends he was not given the knowledge of. Though he suspected the enormous leaps in technology that had taken place in recent years were not all due to their tenuous friendship with the Autobot forces.

Glancing at his watch, Sean noted there were just over ten minutes left until Starscream's appointed deadline. He looked up towards the console, swallowing hard, and began walking toward it.

"You're looking like shit, Mister Berger." Said one of the guards who had approached quietly behind him. Sean jumped at this sudden greeting, his stomach turning over in his chest. "Jumpy too, your wife kicked ya out of the house again?" The guard said, laughing and patting Sean on the back. "Take it easy. You don't need to be here."

Sean's left eye twitched uncontrollably, he ground his teeth and listened to the footsteps of the guard leaving the room. They treated him like that all the time, like a fool. But he was a fool, even though he paid for this facility and was responsible for anything that went wrong he didn't control it. The government controlled everything, he was just a pawn. '_A PAWN!_' He thought.

Sean strode, more forcefully now, to the short man at the console. He looked up as Sean approached, raising his eyebrow at the sorry state Sean was in. "What can I do for you, Mister Berger?"

"I'd like to use this console." Sean said, not completely aware of how irrational a sudden request like that could sound.

"I'm afraid, I can't let anyone use this without authorization." The short man replied, turning his face back to the monitors.

"Don't you dare ignore me." Sean raised his voice. "Have you forgotten who pays your wage?"

"Mister Berger... I can't let y-"

Sean thrust his hand inside his suit pocket and drew out an antiquated pistol, pointing it directly at the short man's forehead. "Give me that chair!"

The short man's hand reacted instantly and slammed against the panic button on the side of console.

Sean's eyes widened and his finger instinctively retracted against the trigger. The short man slumped back in his chair. Sean's hand trembled uncontrollably and he felt the spatter of blood trickling and drying on his face. Shouting was audible outside the room and Sean steeled himself again to complete his task. He could see it instantly, he was a traitor now, just like his father. But he didn't care.

His fingers danced across the panel, confirming the function of each button and lever. With minimal effort the two large doors slid sideways, and the sound of other doors throughout the complex opened with a hollow clang.

"BERGER! PUT THE WEAPON DOWN AND STEP AWAY!" A team of armed guards was now standing at the foot of the room, their weapons armed and aimed right at him. He wasn't listening, he continued to work at the console, he was almost done, just a little more and his family would be safe.

A single shot rang out, and Sean staggered backwards a little. He looked down and saw the gaping hole in his chest. He tried to speak but the words wouldn't come out. His eyes welled with tears and the gun dropped from his hand, clattering uselessly on the concrete floor. He staggered forward and reached toward a button. Another shot was fired, tearing through his right arm. The pain was excruciating, but he didn't cry out. He fell forward onto the console, his vision blurring, blood and tears spilling onto the panel.

'_I'm sorry... Amy..._' Sean thought, as he brought up his left arm, putting as much force as he could into completing the final sequence. The structure all around them hummed with the sudden rush of power. The guards advanced on him, and the pitch of a nearby generator climbed into a high whine. '_Forgive me..._'

-

Starscream's eyes lit up, and he broke his cover, advancing on the building. From the inside he could hear communications from confused Decepticons, weapons being discharged, and humans fighting and fleeing in terror. This was it, it was time for him to take control. This was the first step to freeing himself from Megatron's shadow forever.

With a combined shot from the cannons mounted on either arm, Starscream opened a hole in the side of the building. All was chaos on the inside, as was typical of a leaderless Decepticon fighting force. Once they'd cleaned out all the humans they'd turn on each other to establish the chain of command. There was no time for this nonsense to continue.

The first Decepticon to emerge into the room held a human in his left hand. Still alive, struggling to free himself, but failing miserably. "What's the matter? Don't like being held prisoner?" Another Seeker was standing before Starscream. A deep ocean blue with regal golden wings that flowed down each of his legs.

"Hello, Dirge." Starscream smirked, raising one of his arms to his former comrade.

"Starscream!" Dirge dropped the human and raised his own weapon, but the effort was futile. Starscream's own weapon lanced out and pierced Dirge's shoulder. The golden winged seeker cried out in frustration and dropped to one knee.

"That's for deactivating Trypticon." Starscream kicked Dirge hard, putting him flat on his back. Dirge cradled his wounded shoulder and looked up at Starscream with a mixture of shock and disgust.

"You look you've seen a ghost!" Starscream laughed his typically high pitched laugh, as more Decepticons filed into the room, the last of the human resistance fleeing from their advance.

Starscream looked at each of them in turn, smirking again as he did so. "My friends," he began gesturing with arms spread wide to indicate no ill intentions, "All of you are here for one reason, and one reason only. You are here because Galvatron LEFT YOU HERE! To save HIMSELF!" Starscream clenched his right fist and raised it into the air.

The other Decepticons looked at each other, and then to Dirge, wounded at Starscream's feet.

'_This is going to be too easy._' Starscream thought to himself. This was a routine Megatron used to employ to great effect. Collectively the other Decepticons could topple him without a great degree of effort, but by subjugating Dirge he instilled the fear of retribution into their minds before they could even consider moving against him.

"All of you are here because of his cowardice, they may have shared a body but Galvatron could never lead you like Megatron could." Starscream put out his hand to Dirge, offering to help him to his feet. Dirge looked at the hand for a moment, then took it with his uninjured arm. Starscream hoisted Dirge upright and put a hand on his shoulder.

"All of us have been betrayed by the one who swore to lead us to power." Starscream looked like the very epitome of authority. For that one moment he was the ideal leader, showing force, showing compassion, everything the Decepticons knew that once upon a time Galvatron had been, before he lost his mind.

"_I_ have freed you today. _I_ have taken the time to rescue you from bondage. _I_ am the one who has come back from the dead to lead you to the power we were promised. To rid ourselves of the humans, the Autobots, and Galvatron, FOREVER!" Starscream raised his left first to join the right. For that moment, he felt invincible.

Starscream grinned broadly as the other Decepticons cheered, raising their fists in approval. The elation they felt at freedom, their natural drive for power, and the bitter sense of betrayal they felt at being left behind by Galvatron. He had grasped their thoughts and emotions firmly and twisted them into the threads of his tapestry of revenge. They were his, completely and totally, until all he need do is discard them like the trash they are.


	11. Chapter 11

Skywarp's eyes opened slowly, he looked straight forward and saw the dry cracked ceiling of the motel near the coast. His head throbbed and his vision was hazy, odd murmurs drifted to his ears, he couldn't make them out, but he didn't seem to be concerned over their presence. His body felt light, as if it wasn't really there, but he felt the rhythmic rise and fall of his lungs. The body was human but it didn't seem to matter to him.

Sitting up, he looked around the tiny room. He was sat upright in a double bed that creaked and moaned from years of over use. Melissa stood at the window, right where he expected her to be, her long red hair cascaded down her back, perfect, not a strand out of place. She was gazing out over the ocean, at such an angle where he could not see any part of her face, but he could see the arms of her glasses arch back towards her ears.

"What would you die for?" Melissa asked, her voice somehow more melancholic that he was used to. "If it had been a choice between your survival and the survival of your comrade, which would you have chosen?"

"I wouldn't die for him." Skywarp replied without a moment's hesitation.

"If it were your brother and your best friend? Would you die for Thundercracker?" She asked again.

Hesitating for a moment, Skywarp considered the question. "No." Was the reply however.

The murmuring intensified, but it still seemed like a distant buzzing. Too far away to be of concern. Though he thought at times he could pick out words. But nothing that meant anything to him.

"Even though, he died for you?"

Skywarp didn't reply. Why was she asking him this? The murmuring was growing louder, now he could hear it, entire sentences were beginning to spill into his ears though he could not tell where they were coming from.

"You ended three other lives without a thought. Yet you went back for someone you wouldn't die for? Why?"

"Why?" He replied, sounding surprised. As if the question was absurd. "Because you asked me to. That's why."

"Then tell me, Skywarp. Would you die for me?" She asked, not even a hint of emotion in her voice. "His motor functions have ceased. Yet his core and maintenance functions are still active."

"What did you say?" Skywarp asked again, the murmuring had grown so intense at this point he couldn't distinguish between all the voices.

"Then he's useless!" Her voice became shrill yet emasculated. Before he knew what was happening he felt his body tumble and expected to meet the carpeted floor of the hotel room. But all he met was cold metal. Cybertronian text scrolled across his field of view, diagnostics ran and his power supply confirmed it was within operating capacity. He was suddenly inside a hollow metal compartment, his matte purple hands pressed against the dull metal surface. The sound of excited chatter echoed behind him. Skywarp pushed himself up, returning to a standing position.

"There, you see, it was probably a loose connection." The voice was unmistakably Starscream.

"What do you think you're doing, Starscream?" Skywarp asked, his eyes adjusting to focus on the figures in the room.

"While you've been _resting_, I have freed the rest of the Decepticons." Starscream exclaimed proudly.

Skywarp looked around at all the faces in the room, some of them he recognized, others he didn't, but the space they were in was Astrotrain's cargo hold. It was an unwelcome sight, the last time he was here, he had been tossed out into space for being one of the Decepticons unfortunate enough to actually fight.

"Where are we going?" Skywarp asked, ignoring Starscream and turning to Shockwave for his answer.

"Astrotrain is currently on course for the desert planet Char." Shockwave stated. "However I recommend the current battle plan be reconsidered."

"Nonsense!" Starscream lashed out, his arm slicing through the air with a swift swoosh of sound. "This is our revenge, revenge for Galvatron's betrayal!"

"Our chances of defeating the bulk of the Decepticon force are approximately fourteen point eight seven percent."

"You will cease your defeatist statements, Shockwave, or I will tear your vocal components right out of you!" Starscream advanced on him, the murderous glint in his eyes growing brighter.

"I obey, only Megatron. Your irrational actions will only serve to make our escape a futile act." Shockwave stated.

"Megatron is DEAD!" Starscream raged, "And so are YOU!" Starscream raised his preferred weapon, intending to strike quickly and decisively at Shockwave, before he could retaliate. However, a pre-emptive attack lanced out at Starscream, striking his raised weapon, knocking it straight out of its socket. Starscream turned to the source of the strike, and his eyes widened, his maddening rage further driving his determination to carry out what Shockwave had described as his irrational actions.

Skywarp's arm was outstretched, the barrel of his cannon smoking, from the energy having burnt away the surrounding oxygen. In that instant, looking into Starscream's eyes, Skywarp realized this wasn't the same person he had known all those years ago. The look in Starscream's eyes, he couldn't describe it. Gone were the cold calculating eyes of a scientist, who had aimed to ascend the dizzying heights of power with grace and patience. Replaced instead with the fiery eyes of a being possessed by pure unbridled hatred.

"KILL THEM! DESTROY THEM!" Starscream's feet left the floor and his engines ignited. His body slammed into Skywarp and the two of them tumbled through Astrotrain into the rear wall. The other Decepticons, still drunk on the promise of power, closed in around Shockwave.

It was useless to struggle, but even Shockwave was not free from the war protocol. Using his inbuilt weaponry, Shockwave let out a rapid succession of shots at his assailants, but as he suspected the effort had proven to be futile. The mob of Decepticon muscle overpowered him, and tossed Shockwave's body into the air, his head being the first part of his body to make contact with metal floor.

Skywarp had grossly underestimated his brother's fighting ability. Starscream's power was ferocious, his speed and dexterity beyond anything he could have mustered. It took all of Skywarp's meagre ability to prevent Starscream from landing a killing blow. With his remaining weapon, Starscream fired a shot, intended to pierce Skywarp's chest, immobilizing him. At the last second, Skywarp shifted to avoid the shot, it grazed his body shattering the casing surrounding the equipment that controlled his ability to teleport. Skywarp felt the system go dead, and with it the confidence he had in his own survival.

While it was active he knew he could get away whenever he needed, but now that it was gone, the war protocol was commanding him to flee, to beg for his life. To do anything that would prevent Starscream from taking his life. He fell into a sitting position and scrambled backwards, trying to get away from the white seeker's advance.

'_I will not die, I will not die._' Skywarp repeated the message over and over internally, fighting the compulsion to beg for his life.

Starscream stood over Skywarp, now aware of the paralysis that had overcome his weaker sibling. His rage filled eyes grew cold once more and the snarling expression was replaced by the arrogant smirk. He had won, now all he had to do was enjoy it. Skywarp backed off further, until he was pressed firmly against the wall.

"Poor, Skywarp." Starscream spat, "Trapped with nowhere to go, and no one to help you."

Skywarp's fists clenched and the interference from the war protocol was suddenly silent. Raising both his weapons he opened fire directly at Starscream. But Starscream was too fast, the shots sailed past him and Skywarp raised his remaining weapon, ready to fire it at point blank range.

"It's over!" Starscream yelled in triumph. But his celebration was short lived. It was pure luck, though Skywarp would have like to say he had planned it. The two shots Starscream avoided, struck against Astrotrain's cargo wall. The wall was blown apart, its structure was already strained to the limit from mass shifting to accommodate passengers.

Shockwave was the first one to fall foul of this accident. As the air was blown out of the compartment it took Shockwave with it, and the rest of the Decepticons scrambled to fasten themselves to any object they could.

Starscream was fast to ignite his engines once again, but the damage was done, and his balance was off. He was thrown towards the opening, the black maw outside threatening to swallow him whole. As a last ditch attempt at saving himself, Starscream gripped the fractured edges of Astrotrain's hull, his evil eyes glaring at Skywarp.

Skywarp himself was caught, with nothing to prevent him from being drawn towards the breach, he was going to collide with Starscream. But if he was going, he'd take him too. Skywarp's remaining engine engaged, using himself as the spear to drive Starscream out into space.

What would have been an astonishing reversal of fortune was turned over once again. Starscream's arrogant smile had not faded, even now he was silently mocking Skywarp's weakness. Skywarp snarled and put everything he had into that one engine, but it was for nothing. Starscream's own propulsion re-engaged, flipping him horizontally from the breach, safe against Astrotrain's upper wall.

Skywarp couldn't stop, the last of the escaping air and his own momentum carried him from Astrotrain back out into the darkness. He shifted his weight,trying to get a glimpse of Starscream. There had to be something, _anything_, he could do to turn this around. But in the end, all he saw was a violet streak lancing out towards him. For an instant he thought he felt his armour crack as it was pierced. But all too soon, he was immersed once again in darkness, he couldn't see anything, not even the light of the stars.


	12. Chapter 12

"I'm proud of you." Melissa smiled, her raid hair seemed as if it were ablaze. The warm glow from the distant sunset filtered through the fiery cascade that spilled beautifully down her back.

"Proud of me?" Skywarp almost choked on his sarcasm, throwing himself down on the bed, shuffling backwards to rest lazily against the headboard. "Proud of what? I got myself shot up and now I'm drifting through space, and I could be heading toward just about anything."

Melissa chuckled, she picked up a brush from the table near the window and began running it through her hair. It waved and rolled as beautifully as a fine silk sheet, billowing in a gentle breeze. The natural tones and highlights shifting their hues with the filtered light. "You stood up for him, that was a selfless act, something to be proud of. And you fought valiantly, even though it was against your own brother."

Skywarp's mouth hung agape at those words. Turning his head to gawk stupidly at her, craning his neck to try and catch a glimpse of her face. "Starscream had it coming that's all. Even if he designed us, I have no fondness for Shockwave."

"Are you sure?" Melissa's tone brightened, a hint of her own brand of sarcasm sneaking in. "In a way I suppose one could consider him your father."

"Don't talk nonsense." Skywarp rolled his eyes. "Fathers, brothers, it's all fleshling nonsense I want no part of." Skywarp rolled over, turning his back on the girl.

"But wasn't it you, who first called them your brothers?" There was a dull clunk as Melissa replaced the brush on the table.

Even though he couldn't see it, he could picture the satisfied smile that must have been on Melissa's face.

"Don't mess with me, woman." Skywarp snapped angrily, turning back to face her and sitting bolt upright. "Or you'll regret it."

"Oh?" Melissa planted her hands on her hips as if to chastise him. "What are you gonna do about it, tough guy? Give me a good seeing to like you did the last time we were here?"

Skywarp thought he felt the blood run to his face, but he wasn't sure. He couldn't feel any of the sensations he was expecting, yet he knew they were happening. "I-I don't know what you're talking about." He turned his head back to the ceiling, in a futile attempt to hide his embarrassment.

"You're still adorable," She sighed, "even if you're no longer human."

"You've poisoned my mind!" He snapped. "Hampered my decision making and compromised what little grasp of logic I had."

"Well excuse me." Melissa snorted indignantly. "I suppose you'll be wanting an apology?"

"No," Skywarp grinned, "I want to say thank you."

Melissa cocked her head to the side, confused at the contradictory statement.

"If it weren't for you, " Skywarp noted, his eyes closed as if he were trying to sleep, "I would still be following Starscream around like a cowardly earthbound Autobot hiding behind Optimus Prime."

"Guess I have my uses then." She shrugged, giving up on trying to appeal to his human side.

"Most of the time you're just trouble." Skywarp laughed, still trying to get a bigger reaction from her.

"You should go back." She said, her voice returned to quiet melancholy. She picked up the brush again and ran it through her hair. "They're coming for you."

"Who's coming for me?" Skywarp sat rigid, his eyes burning into back.

-

Skywarp felt it before he saw it. A metal clamp had secured itself to him and was pulling him toward a spire of twisted silver metal. Pulsing green lights crowned the tip of each end of the spire. The metal snaked and coiled almost as if it were organic, but the cold smooth texture of tempered metal was unmistakable.

Skywarp could see Shockwave held in another vice like clamp, being pulled in by an unseen force from the twisted metal ship. Shockwave's limbs flailed lifelessly, he had taken quite a beating from the mob of Decepticons. Skywarp wondered if he was still functioning, his body was dented and pierced, wiring and synthetic muscle was hanging from torn joints.

As the ship drew closer, the smooth impression of stainless metal surface gave way to stark signs of age and wear. The already contorted body was stained by dents and fractures, with frequent pockets of rust forming a network of damage and decay on the aged, decrepit ship.

Skywarp's visual display caught sight of a faded symbol, once proudly emblazoned on one of the rare flat surfaces of the structure. A crude humanoid skull with a set of vicious fangs, set out in a vibrant green. What once was stark and bold was now but a faded memory, slowly being eaten away like the rest of the ancient vessel.

"Quintesson..." Skywarp snarled in disgust. "What are those scavengers doing this close to Cybertron?"

Skywarp engaged with his repair systems directly. Prioritizing the nanites work on the dimensional ripper. He was counting on the Quintesson not being aware of his ability. As one of the second generation of Decepticons, he had not been a product of the blueprints stored within Vector Sigma, but an original creation crafted within the warrior body type developed by Shockwave.

Shockwave on the other hand, was a direct product of Vector Sigma, unique in every way, yet sharing a kinship with Megatron himself through the similarity of their battle design, mobile weaponry of massive destructive power. Shockwave however always preferred to think his way to power, unlike Megatron, who grasped it firmly in cold metallic hands.

The maw of the ship's hangar bay drew into view. Skywarp could see the creatures themselves, suspended on beams of light, overseeing their work. He hated the sight of them, even though this was his first time seeing one in person. Deep within his hard coded programming, directly under the jurisdiction of the war protocol was a list of species considered an enemy. Even higher than the Autobots on that list were the names of their creators, their first true enemy, the Quintesson.

As Vector Sigma designed and created ever superior machines under the influence of the Quintesson. So too did these machines come to question their subservience to a race that cared nothing for the lives of their creations.

While the Autobots had been unable to resist, being bound by the rules of their own core protocol, to protect all organic sentient life, even at the cost of their own. It had been the Decepticons, urged on by the imperfect instructions of the war protocol to rise up and eradicate their creators, earning freedom for all the Transformers on Cybertron.

It had been this oversight on the part of the Quintesson that had led to their downfall. OR perhaps some had believed, it had been orchestrated by Vector Sigma itself. Regardless of what the cause had been, the Quintesson were his enemy, ad if had been able, Skywarp would have struck at them without hesitation.

Skywarp was pulled into the hangar bay, the head of one of the Quintesson bodies rotated, to the face of pride. The ancient creature housed within the metal exoskeleton began to speak rapidly in the original language of the Quintesson, what had eventually come to be known as Cybertronian. It had been many years since he had last used it. While on Earth the Decepticons had adapted the native language of the continent they landed on, and had been speaking English ever since.

"How fortunate for us." The first Quintesson spoke, its voice a deep resounding rasp.

"Indeed." Began a second Quintesson, its head also rotating to the face of pride. "Most fortunate that on our observation mission to Cybertron we should come across two Decepticon relics from the great war." This Quintesson's voice was several octaves higher than the first, but the same rasp characteristic of their species carried through its exoskeleton with defining character.

Skywarp made a mental note to remain absolutely still and silent. In his weakened condition he had little chance of escaping from them without his teleportation ability. One fast jump into the dimensional rift would be all he needed to put enough distance between himself and this ship to make good on his escape. As long as they didn't realize he was still functional, he could continue his repairs unhindered.

"Fortunate perhaps," began a third Quintesson, its head rotating to the face of wisdom. "But I see little purpose these Decepticons could serve. Their forces are vastly depleted and are of little concern to us or to our mission of retrieving this cycle's data." The third Quintesson's voice was as deep as the first, but its rasp slightly less pronounced.

"Perhaps we could use their components to construct new Sharkticons. Their superior weaponry would make them excellent guardians." The second Quintesson suggested, its face mirroring the third as the face of wisdom.

The third Quintesson's face rotated to the face of death, its skeletal fangs bared menacingly. "I suggest we dispose of their bodies and continue our mission with all possible haste."

"There is little need to worry. Even if we are late the information will still be ready." The first Quintesson's face did not change, it continued to speak through the face of pride. "The Autobots do not even realize their leader's personality is a facsimile. Still under the influence of our original programming only with a much refined set of covert objectives. He will wait for us, and all the strategic data on Cybertron's defences will be ours."

The second Quintesson's face rotated to the face of wrath. That devil like face that struck fear and intimidation into the hearts and minds of those who were to be made unfortunate victims of the Sharkticons, before they were finally shown the face of death. "I still cannot believe they asked _me_ to rebuild him! Even through they knew his core had already been absorbed by the harvesting matrix!"

"Their ignorance knows no bounds." The first Quintesson remained again on the face of pride. "So overjoyed were they at the return of their beloved saviour, they have allowed him to aid us in our reclamation of Cybertron, almost completely uninhibited."

The second Quintesson's face shifted to the face of death. "That weakness shall be their undoing."

"Perhaps we should indulge in a quiet chuckle?" The third Quintesson chimed in.

"Agreed." The second Quintesson responded instantly.

"Very well, a quiet chuckle." The first Quintesson rotated its face to the face of Death.

All three Quintessons chuckled to themselves, their tentacles flailing in the air.

'_You waste too much energy with your mouths._' Skywarp thought, fighting back the urge to mock their arrogance. But still by saviour they must have been referring to Optimus Prime. HE could hardly believe they had pulled it off. Optimus Prime, an unwitting Quintesson double agent. Their greatest hero had become their greatest enemy. This information would be worth a lot, perhaps he could sell it to the Autobots, or maybe even to Galvatron should he survive Starscream's surprise assault. With that thought, a realization struck him. '_I need to warn them about Starscream. But how?_' Though he feared it may already be too late.

The third Quintesson ceased his monotonic chuckling and retracted his tentacles. "We still lack the fire power to retake the factory from the Autobot populace."

"Our brethren have been assigned the task of solving that dilemma, but even these two dead Decepticons are worth a small fortune to us." The first Quintesson rasped from the face of wrath. "We shall rebuild them, perfect the war protocol and fix the mistakes we made all those millennia ago."

"And the Quintesson Empire shall be reborn!" The second Quintesson curled its tentacles in anticipatory triumph. "Take them to the assembly room!" The second Quintesson called to Sharkticon guards on standby near a large set of silver doors.

"I believe a celebratory guffaw is in order." The first Quintesson stated.

The Sharkticons, being of only minimal intelligence and not possessing the same freedom of independent thought and emotion of their predecessors, were compelled to obey. With the sound of the Quintesson laughing maniacally to themselves in the background, Skywarp watched the Sharkticons approach, and take him into their grasp.

The Sharkticon's bulbous bodies rocked comically as they shifted the weight of Skywarp's body between them. Skywarp couldn't help but feel a sense of pity for the creatures. They were smart enough to suffer but not smart enough for think for themselves.

'_And who knows what kind of obedience programming the Quintesson have cursed them with._' Skywarp would have preferred to stay and listen to the Quintesson trio talk more about their plans. But he needn't push his luck, the dimensional ripper would be functional within the hour.

Shockwave however was a cause for more concern. Skywarp couldn't tell whether he had shut down into core preservation mode, or if his core had ceased functioning completely. Either way he didn't want to leave Shockwave's body to the mercy of the Quintesson. Not out of compassion, or a sense of duty, he told himself. Simply because he needed all the allies he could get.

The two motionless Decepticons were deposited inside a long but narrow room. Dimly lit, its floor was strewn with spare parts and bare electronics. Several archaic types of Autobot and Decepticon were littered throughout the room. The majority of their body parts missing, likely recycled into the unfinished Sharkticons which were suspended on assembly stations along the wall. Having completed their task, the obedient Sharkticons abandoned the room to return to their masters beck and call.

Skywarp eased himself to his feet, his one missing engine made it awkward to maintain his footing. In the corner of the room however, were three deactivated Seeker drones. Their colours a flat blue, green, and yellow respectively. Skywarp approached the blue Seeker and nudged it to check for signs of functionality, but there was no response.

Normally he would never have considered doing this to one of his own kind, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Acquainting himself briefly with the Quintesson tools, he began the process of removing the Seeker's engine. It would take some time for the nanites to adjust it to function correctly with his systems, but it would be faster and consume less energy than having the nanites reconstruct it from scratch. He would just have to put up with having a blue foot for a while, until changing the colour became top of his rather long repair list.

Taking care to avoid damaging his upper leg, Skywarp removed the damaged left foot and tossed it at the now one legged blue Seeker. The leg connected, knocking it and its inactive fellows to the ground, like a sequence of dominoes. Securing the new engine into place, Skywarp allowed a contingent of his body's nanites to cease their work on the dimensional ripper and make the necessary connections to integrate it into his leg.

"Sorry to do this to you three, but it's survival of the fittest right now. Besides, you're in pretty bad shape, like you've been standing around in acid rain or something." Skywarp grinned briefly.

He felt the pangs of irrational human guilt overcome him again as he said that. It had been the rule of survival of the fittest that had cost Thundercracker his life, and cost the Decepticons the mind of their greatest leader, leaving him a mentally unstable shadow of his former self.

Skywarp scrutinized the damage to Shockwave's body. He would have liked to perform the same Frankenstein surgery on Shockwave that he used on himself. Repairs and maintenance on other Transformers however were unfortunately not a facet of his programming.

"So why did you have to give Starscream all the quality programming? Skywarp asked the motionless body. "Did you run out of parts and decide to build my brain out of leftover scrap?" Skywarp swung his newly repaired foot into Shockwave's side, the crunching sound of metal on metal resonated through the room.

"Well, since you can't kick yourself for your mistake, allow me." Skywarp grinned as he booted Shockwave again.

The single yellow diode on what passed for Shockwave's face briefly flashed into life, before falling back into darkness. Skywarp looked expectedly surprised, but decided it was worth trying again. He delivered a swift kick to Shockwave's side and the diode lit up again, the sound of several internal mechanisms accompanying it.

"How about that." Skywarp chuckled, "I am a mechanical genius after all."

Shockwave's head turned to Skywarp, and his arms began probing the damaged areas of his body. "Where is this?" Shockwave inquired, once again not acknowledging that Skywarp had saved his life from Starscream's clutches.

"A Quintesson ship." Skywarp replied, "Kind of a grim situation don't you think?"Skywarp shrugged apologetically.

"I require external maintenance." Shockwave stated, again avoiding engaging Skywarp in conversation. "My maintenance unit has lost the capacity to replicate control nano machines."

"Like I was saying. You never gave me any kind of maintenance programming. I can barely repair myself, let alone you."

Shockwave remained silent for a brief moment, assessing his options. "That was perhaps an oversight on my part." He admitted reluctantly. "It was however necessary at the time."

"Why?" Skywarp narrowed his eyes, glancing down at Shockwave.

It had completely passed above Skywarp's notice, but this was perhaps the first time Shockwave had engaged him in any kind of exchange that was not related to an order.

"Under Megatron's orders, I took a young volunteer and rebuilt him. That volunteer became the template for all the Seekers, that was Starscream. When work on the Seeker frame was completed, I noticed that its destructive capability was something that could ultimately threaten the Decepticons if not managed correctly. I allowed Starscream's speed to remain unchecked and gifted him with advanced weaponry suitable for high speed assaults. You have seen the result. If it were not for Megatron's unique strength, Starscream would have taken the mantle of leadership long ago."

Skywarp watched Shockwave intently as he continued his monologue.

"It was fortunate that Starscream's core program contained an inherent array of character flaws, ultimately nullifying the effectiveness of his full potential. I could not take the risk for Megatron's sake that a being with the potential strength of Starscream could fully utilize that power. I began work on Thundercracker and yourself, prepared to stunt your potential for the sake of balance. Thundercracker became the template for the seeker drones, and you were just a failure." Shockwave stated without emotion.

"What?" Skywarp asked, completely bemused by the statement.

"No other Decepticon was ever given your ability, and the process through which to create the dimensional ripper was destroyed. You were to be my masterpiece, until I realized my folly. When I considered the consequences of a mind like Starscream obtaining the power of the perfect assassin, able to teleport to any target at will, dispatch them, and teleport away without leaving a trace. I could not allow it." Shockwave continued his monologue. "I stunted the power of your central processor, put restrictions on your speed, and removed a dummy program I had created to nullify the war protocol. Had it been my decision I would have dismantled you, but Megatron would not allow the power of the dimensional ripper to go to waste."

Skywarp remained in stony silence. He had always respected Shockwave as his creator, and looked up to Megatron as a commander. Admired him, _idolized_ him, and now this. Deep down he had known it all along, Megatron never saw him as anything but a convenient weapon. The other Decepticons had mocked him for his lack of ability and now he knew that the two of them had cast him in that role. For countless millennia, he had been nothing but a loyal dog, when he could have been so much more.

"I will undo the restrictions I placed upon your body, and give you the knowledge you require to repair me, and to destroy Starscream." Shockwave almost sounded as if he were begging.

A feeling of utter disgust filled Skywarp. It wasn't concern, or guilt, or even a sense of responsibility or camaraderie that had prompted Shockwave to reveal this. He did it solely because it was the only way to save his own life from the Quintesson.

"Consider the latent potential you have never had the ability to explore. The potential to surpass Starscream, to surpass even Megatron as the supreme instrument of destruction, the ultimate weapon of warfare. All I ask in return is that you repair me." Even in this last ditch attempt at survival, Shockwave did not allow himself to sound humbled or apologetic. His voice remained calm, refined, and commanding.

The temptation was there, the thought of the destructive power he could wield with the restrictions upon his potential lifted were beyond his current comprehension. It was the mystery that surrounded what he could be that made the desire to more than he could bare. Acceptance was pursed up on his lips when he began to consider those that he knew, and had known. The thought of refusing was absurd to him, yet it was now prominent at the fore of his mind. If he were to accept Shockwave's offer, everything that he was would be lost, consumed by this demon that lurked within him.

He couldn't understand why he felt this way. Everyone he had cared about was dead, Thundercracker, Melissa, Megatron, they were all dead. The thought conflicted with with his basic programming, he was a Decepticon, a war machine, he shouldn't care about anyone. Pursuing power was their religion, there could be only one king and this was his chance to rule over all.

But he couldn't. The war protocol was silent, and all he could think about were Melissa's words and the feeling she instilled within him. She and Thundercracker, had truly cared, not about his potential as a weapon, not a s a tool in the Decepticon bid for dominance. They had cared for him, and who he was. Taking this step would be unforgivable. An insult to their memories, there was only one action to take, and that was to fulfil Thundercracker's last wish, and bring Starscream down. And he'd do it without destroying who he was in the process, he wasn't the best, but he was proud of who he was.

"No. Get out of here on your own, Shockwave." Skywarp sneered and turned his back on Shockwave.

"Skywarp! I order you to obey!" Shockwave's voice suddenly became angered.

Skywarp turned his head and glanced back over his wing at Shockwave. "I'm going to take out Starscream. If you ever get out of here alive, you should be the one to take me out. I'll be looking forward to it!" Skywarp couldn't help but snicker at the thought that this was all her fault, but he was enjoying every moment. "That is, if you think you've got what it takes." He became suddenly straight faced, turned rapidly and threw his foot out at Shockwave's head as if he were going to smash it off its support column. Shockwave flinched in fear and struggled helplessly to move his head out of the way, but just a second before the foot ever connected with Shockwave's head, Skywarp disappeared in a column of white light.


	13. Chapter 13

The bleak environment inside the dimensional tear was a stark contrast even to the emptiness one observes in space. A pure white world, with no planets, no stars, not even a speck of dust. One thing Skywarp knew about this world however, was every point corresponded to an identical set of coordinates in the material universe. Keeping track of exactly where you were in the void wasn't an easy task, and Skywarp always felt the other Decepticons never gave him enough credit for it. The absence of matter in this world was not its only defining feature, there was also an absence of time. A journey that took him five minutes in this world, seemed almost instantaneous to anyone in the real world that was watching it.

Shockwave had always told Skywarp never to journey in excess of two miles, and always be aware of what surrounded him in the material universe. He had come dangerously close on several occasions to materializing in a wall, or inside a mountain on earth. Either one of those occurrences would have been the death of him. Skywarp was feeling rebellious with his new found sense of freedom and had his sights set on Cybertron, a journey far in excess of two miles. He knew the coordinates, he knew the length of time it would take to get there, so he was going to go all the way. It was only a matter of minutes now, until he had gone far enough to return to normal space.

Suddenly, he began to panic, he remembered the last time he had tried this, on his way back to earth five years ago, it had almost cost him his life.

'_What should I do? Should I get out now before it's too late?_' Skywarp questioned himself.

Skywarp agonized over the decision for a while even though the answer was clear. Get out to reassess his location then resume the journey.

'_Calm down, just think this through, you don't have Megatron here to hold your hand any more._' Skywarp noted with bitter resentment.

Transforming, Skywarp engaged the dimensional ripper and left the void. He had expected to materialize with Cybertron appearing as a distant orb. What greeted him in actual fact was a torn metal surface, like a deformed hunk of scrap hanging in space. Skywarp drifted at an alarming speed, with no way to slow himself down in time. He could have simply re-entered the void and escaped it all together, but the clarity of his thought process was once again in disarray, and he collided with the surface leaving a distinct impression of himself embedded in its already ragged texture.

"Wh... What is this thing?" Skywarp picked himself up, his instruments rattled by the sudden impact.

The strange object was also drifting, as if some tremendous force had thrown it out into space. Skywarp engaged his thrusters and manoeuvred himself around the object. In the distance he could see Cybertron as he had expected, glowing with the faint tint of gold, the tell tale sign of a planet infused with energon. Skywarp turned again to examine what he had crashed into, the sight of it made him jump backwards in fear. It was an enormous face, its eyes shattered and its exterior plating missing down one side, exposing the complex electronics beneath. With two demonic horns atop its cranium, it was a horrific sight to behold.

Enthralled by its appearance, Skywarp's curiosity held his mind in a vice like grip. Whatever it was it appeared to be dead, so it shouldn't be dangerous to approach. Even though it was a disembodied head, Skywarp felt it would be unwise to approach its mouth, so he decided to examine one of the shattered eyes first.

The interior of the eye socket was cavernous, several twisting pathways spiralled in all directions. Skywarp inched his way inside, surmising that the paths leading down led back into space, as the rest of the body was missing, thus he decided to explore further upwards.

After a relatively short flight upwards, Skywarp arrived at what appeared to be the head's brain cavity. It looked to have been built to accommodate machines of his size, and there were Quintesson markings throughout the room.

"This thing is one of us? Is it a Decepticon?" He traced his finger along a damaged panel, which was connected to a network of computers suspended from the high ceiling.

"**I... am as far beyond Decepticons as they are beyond Autobots.**" A voiced boomed out from all around.

Skywarp fell backwards in sheer fright, the strength of that voice, the intensity of the ear shattering booms was beyond anything he had experienced before. "Who said that?" He looked around the room expecting to see something huge in the shadows.

"**I am Unicron.**" The voice boomed out from the blackness. From where Skywarp stood it seemed loud enough to drown the universe in terror. "**You are like the one who came before.**"

Skywarp edged his way back across the room, his weaponry primed and searching for a target. "Come out whoever you are. You don't scare me with that phony voice of yours."

"**Unlike the other, your lack of analytical capability is evident. Perhaps you may be **_**easier**_** to control.**" The voice known as Unicron mused. The style of speech made Skywarp feel as if his presence were insignificant.

"What do you want from me?" Skywarp asked, still scanning the darkness for a target.

"**It is not a question of what I want from you, but what we can do for each other.**" Unicron stated.

Skywarp lowered his weapons, finding a target had proven futile. Whatever this thing was it was good at hiding. "I'm listening." A wave of green light shone from above it passed over Skywarp, penetrating his frame, leaving not one component untouched. Skywarp couldn't react, the light had frozen him in place. "What did you just do?" He demanded.

"**Your processing capacity has been severely limited. Your physical structure is worn from neglect. The Quintesson alloys that compose you have been tainted with inferior, primitive metals.**" Unicron continued listing Skywarp's faults one by one.

"Get to the point." Skywarp demanded impatiently.

"**Your impatience will do nothing but lead you to premature destruction.**" Unicron lectured his new toy. "**Very well.**"

Skywarp felt it instantly. There was no physical evidence, but something had been torn from the core chamber in his head. Suddenly he no longer felt that sense of indomitable confidence he had upon leaving Shockwave, and a cold fear overtook him.

More green light lanced down from the high point of the room. It traced the floor in a uniform pattern, Skywarp didn't understand what it was, until he saw the beams of light were leaving matter in their wake, they were constructing something. Atom by atom the object took shape, a glass sphere filled with an odd translucent liquid, and within that liquid the form of a single human woman, a serene look of calm upon an unconscious face.

Skywarp's mouth widened in disbelief, it was Melissa. Her flame red hair floated in the liquid, and she hugged herself tightly in the foetal position. But her eyes were closed, and she seemed all but dead.

"**I have seen the contents of your memories, and this is but a sample of what I can do for you. If you cooperate with me, I shall return this human to you.**" As Unicron spoke, the liquid filled sphere was surrounded by four metal claws. Each one threatening to cut into the sphere and destroy its contents at a moment's notice. "**Disobey, and you will lose this one forever.**"

"Sorry, but why should I care?" Skywarp replied suddenly. "A human isn't much good to me."

"**Do **_**not**_** underestimate the scope of what you so easily dismiss, Decepticon.**" Unicron's voiced rose an octave, chastising Skywarp for his flippant remark. "**The soul of this human shared an unexplained bond with your core program, and became trapped within its chamber. If I destroy this body now, her mind and memories will be lost to you for eternity.**"

Skywarp snarled silently, he knew something had been odd about it but he hadn't believed such a thing was possible. If that really was her, he didn't have a choice in the matter, he had to play along. At least until he could take her with him.

"**I trust your situation has been made clear?**" Unicron asked.

"Clear." Repeated Skywarp. "What do you want me to do?"

The green light shone down upon Skywarp once again, penetrating every molecule of his body. He felt his components twitch and rearrange themselves, metal was stripped away from his frame and his wings disintegrated, only for the green light to recreate them in a matter of seconds.

"**I have restored your body to its peak efficiency, though your mental functions will remain locked until you have completed the task I require.**" Unicron informed him.

Skywarp found himself able to move again, he looked down at himself and noted his body had been reconfigured. The design was new, but not unfamiliar, he had spent so long as an earthen F-15 he had almost forgotten he once was a streamlined Cybertronian tetrajet.

"**This is my command; you will locate the being known as Primacron. You will bring it to me, alive, and then I shall return this human to you, and restore your full potential.**" Unicron's voiced thundered louder than before.

"Where do I find this Primacron?" Skywarp enquired.

"**Primacron was the scientist that designed and constructed the Cybertron factory, with the financial backing of the Quintesson. He is being held by the Autobots, on Cybertron itself.**" Unicron bellowed.

"You expect me to just waltz into Iacon and ask the Autobots to hand him over?" Skywarp's eyes brightened in surprise, his tone heavy with sarcasm.

Unicron ignored the insubordinate tone Skywarp directed at him. "**Your Decepticon allies ****may prove useful in this endeavour. Return to Char and seek their guidance, and bring ****Primacron to me. If you do not, I will destroy this human.**"

Skywarp took one last look at the sphere that held Melissa, and held in his anger as best he could. He was not fond of being manipulated, after Shockwave and Megatron it was all too much. Once this was over, he swore to himself, he would never suffer this indignation ever again. Without saying another word to Unicron, Skywarp ran for the opening at the base of the room. With a rapid transformation, his body converted itself from humanoid robot to a sleek Cybertronian jet. The wedge shaped fighter swooped into a sheer vertical dive, emerging once again into the bleak vastness of space.

"**Bring Primacron to me, or my wrath shall be great.**" Unicron's voice echoed within Skywarp's mind. "**Until such a time, you will belong to me.**"

:::::

"DESTROY THEM! DESTROY THE TRAITORS!" Galvatron's madness tainted voice rang out above the ash laden surface of Char.

The planet's thin atmosphere clouded over as the trundling Decepticon war machines on its surface kicked dust and rock into the air. Blitzwing and the Stunticons as Menasor battled against Galvatron's suffering ground forces. Low on energon and wounded from from severe clashes with the Autobots and even their own leader, the loyal Decepticon army struggled to hold off the assault from Starscream's small but rested and fully energized group of warriors.

Starscream himself battled one on one with Galvatron. The two of them clashed, well placed shots from their primary weapons only narrowly missing their targets. Normally it would not have been a problem for Galvatron to dispose of Starscream despite his power, but Galvatron's low energy reserves had heavily depleted his own fighting ability. The air around them was lit up by Astrotrain, Thrust, and Dirge, running air superiority against their loyalist counterparts.

Galvatron clashed once again with his treacherous former second in command. They tumbled through the air and down to the dusty planet below still locked in a deadly embrace. Galvatron's hands locked firmly around Starscream's throat, in an attempt to squeeze the life from him. Starscream was too quick for Galvatron's tired body to react fast enough, a well placed kick separated Starscream from Galvatron's grip providing the usurper with an open shot.

Galvatron didn't even see it coming, all he felt was a searing pain as the shot tore through his chest. With a hollow thud, Galvatron connected with the earth, sparks flying from the open wound. Straining his neck, the once mighty leader of the Decepticons stared into Starscream's triumphant smirking face. Galvatron's own expression was contorted with rage, a rage so fierce it compelled his body to rise against the will of the war protocol that begged him to surrender.

"Why go on Galvatron?" Starscream jeered his former commander. "Acknowledge me as your leader and I may yet show you mercy."

"I hate you, Starscream. I hate you most of all. More than Unicron, more than the Autobots... MORE THAN OPTIMUS PRIME! I WILL CRUSH YOU! I WILL DESTROY YOU! I WILL TEAR YOU TO PIECES! **I WILL HANG YOU ON MY WALL AS A TROPHY! ****HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!**" Galvatron raised his fusion cannon in one swift movement, too quickly for Starscream to react.

Starscream flinched in a moment of cowardice, ready to run should he survive the blast. But the blast never came. Galvatron's cannon smoked and died, out of energy and unable to carry out its command.

"No... I need more power! MORE POWER! SOUNDWAVE! GIVE ME MORE POWER!" Galvatron screamed again and lunged at Starscream, but his strength had left him and he fell once again, face first into the earth.

"Poor '_Megatron_', hahahaha!" Starscream gloated. "You should have stayed dead the first time I finished you!" Starscream strode victoriously around Galvatron's defeated body just as he had done the day Megatron fell to Optimus Prime, and delivered a swift kick to Galvatron's mid section, mirroring the events that took place all those years ago. "Prime couldn't get the job done! It was always MY destiny to put you in your place, Megatron! And my time is NOW!" Starscream aimed his own weapon at Galvatron's head and smiled more broadly than he had ever before.

"STARSCREAM!" A voice thundered from the distance.

Startled, Starscream looked up to the source of the call. The intimidating shape of Skywarp's black tetrajet form streaked downwards towards him, its weapons opening fire to strafe two lines between Galvatron and Starscream.

"NO!" Starscream's voice reeked of suffering as he was forced to abandon his chance to destroy Galvatron once and for all.

Astrotrain banked into Skywarp's view, and without a moment's hesitation Skywarp unleashed another volley of fire-power into Astrotrain's side. The unfortunate Decepticon transport found himself careering out of control towards the rugged terrain below, but he did not reach the surface before first catching Thrust in mid-flight, tearing off one of his wings and destroying both his engines. The two of them continued to spiral out of control together before embedding themselves in Char's ash covered topography.

Not wanting to lose the advantage of surprise, Skywarp turned his attention to Menasor. The Gestalt was heavily armoured and very little Skywarp could throw at it would be able to pierce it's thick metal coating. Skywarp however had an almost autistic talent for destruction, and that talent was about to rear its ugly head.

Blitzwing rolled noisily up to his new target and centred Skywarp within his sights. "One for the away team!" Blitzwing called out and launched an explosive shell at the raven-like Seeker.

Skywarp's engines ignited and he flipped upside down, transforming to catch the shell in both hands as it went beneath his head, and in instant he had vanished into the void. For a moment all was silent, and the remaining usurpers scanned the area for a sign of their quarry.

Without warning, Motormaster, the core of Menasor, suddenly exploded, his body split into two pieces as the force of Blitzwing's own shell drove the Stunticon team apart and scattered them across the battlefield. Blitzwing looked on in horror. How had his shell found its way _inside_ Motormaster? How was it possible?

There was a brief flash of light and Blitzwing's optical sensors darted upwards to identify it. It happened in an instant, but to Blitzwing it played out in slow motion. Skywarp emerged from the flash of light, landing atop Blitzwing's gun turret. From Skywarp's right forearm an energy blade extended like a sword and was driven down into Blitzwing, straight through his optical scanners leaving him blind, all he felt after that was the rapid pounding of machine gun fire as Skywarp's arm mounted weapons drilled their way into the wound opened by the blade. Skywarp disappeared once again before Blitzwing's energy reserves ignited and his entire body burst into flames.

Skywarp appeared again, directly over Starscream, the blade once again extended and arcing down towards the white Seeker's neck. Starscream however, was too clever and too fast, he caught Skywarp's arm and slammed him into the ground, smashing his free fist into Skywarp's torso.

"Skywarp, you filthy traitor!" Starscream slammed his fist again into Skywarp's torso.

Skywarp's internals reacted badly to the impact, he lost control of the dimensional ripper once again and struggled against Starscream's superior strength.

"I'm going to cut that blasted teleporter right out of you!" Starscream ranted, and from his own forearm a similar energy blade extended itself and loomed menacingly above Skywarp's head. "IT'S OVER, SKYWARP! YOU LOSE!"

But without warning, an energy pulse from an unknown source blew Starscream from his perch on Skywarp's torso. Sending him tumbling to the dirt and causing further damage accentuating the wounds already inflicted by Galvatron, and Starscream lay still... defeated.

Skywarp turned his head to identify his saviour, standing just a few feet away was a Decepticon he had never seen before. Stoic and powerful, a jet like himself but with a vastly different design. He felt a sense of foreboding about this encounter. This warrior, whoever it may have been, sported a pair of horns not unlike those he had previously seen on the face of Unicron himself.


	14. Chapter 14

The air inside the Decepticon citadel of Char was arid and stale, the walls of it's great hall blackened from bursts of fusion energy. Pieces of dead Decepticons littered the floor, along with pieces of some who were still living. Galvatron sat on his stone throne, his expression blank, looking thoroughly bored. While the exo-suit clad minions of Zarak busied themselves, clambering about Galvatron's body making repairs.

Zarak himself did not seem to be faring as well as his former subordinates. The humanoid had been strung up above the archway to the throne room, several severe scorch marks adorned the stone door where Galvatron had likely been taking pot shots at the poor creature for his own amusement. Zarak's once muscular frame had thinned, and his ragged clothes hung off him like dry, dead skin.

Skywarp stood in the centre of the room, flanked on either side by Scourge and the one who had saved him from Starscream's retribution, Cyclonus. Scourge's demonic like figure was diminutive in comparison to the stature of Cyclonus, who towered above everyone else in the room. Skywarp felt an odd sense of familiarity about them even though this had been their first meeting. Galvatron's aura, despite the way it had been warped, was unmistakably that of Megatron.

"So!" Galvatron's head shifted suddenly, and he stood up, flinging the Nebulans to the ground. "You're still alive!" Galvatron approached, his arms cupped into a welcoming motion as he approached. "How fortunate for you..."

"I return to serve at your side, mighty Galvatron." Skywarp bowed his head and shoulders, averting his eyes from Galvatron's gaze.

"You are-NOT WELCOME HERE!" Galvatron's fist flew faster than Skywarp could react, and he was hit squarely in the face, sending him sprawling to the dust stone floor.

"Mighty Galvatron! Please! This battle would have been in vain without his assistance." Cyclonus pleaded, he had clearly become used to acting as Galvatron's sense of logic and conscience.

"Silence, Cyclonus! This filth abandoned us in space! I'll have his monument in the Decepticon crypt demolished for coming back alive!"

"As if we could get that close to the crypt under your _leadership_." Scourge muttered, a little too loud for his own good.

Galvatron's fist flew out again without a moment's hesitation, knocking Scourge into the wall. The resulting tremors caused the beaten body of Zarak to quiver in his restraints.

"YOU WON'T EVEN GET A MONUMENT!" He ranted at Scourge.

Galvatron turned his back on Skywarp, and waved his arm dismissively at Cyclonus. "Take this trash to the holding cells, I want to be alone." Galvatron strode over to Zarak and grasped his chest in a closed fist. Zarak let out a futile gasp of protest as Galvatron yanked his body from the wall.

To Galvatron it must have been as insignificant as crushing an insect. Zarak's body detached from his arms, which remained chained to the wall. Zarak wailed in pain as the blood flowed from the gaping wounds now where his arms once were. Galvatron casually tossed the broken man to the dismayed gathering of Nebulans near the throne.

"Get rid of it!" Galvatron barked, and raised his arms to admire the spot where Zarak had been hanging. "Perfect! Cyclonus! I want Starscream's head mounted right here!"

Skywarp felt dismayed at Galvatron's actions. Perhaps owing to his experience as a human, but the cruelty and disregard for logic was nothing like he had been expecting. Megatron had been manipulative, and cruel to a degree, but this could only be described as... insanity.

"As you so order, mighty Galvatron." Cyclonus stooped to grasp Skywarp's arm, lifting him to his feet.

Without warning a wide belt of energon expanded to encompass and restrict Skywarp's movement. Galvatron began to laugh gleefully to himself, staring at the spot on the wall, no doubt picturing how Starscream's face would look embedded into it.

Cyclonus led Skywarp and Scourge out of Galvatron's presence and through the dim hallways of the crudely constructed fortress. Scourge broke off from their path, leaving Skywarp alone with Cyclonus. The two of them marched past assorted gatherings of Decepticons. Beaten, and low on energon, their eyes bored hungrily into the pair as they passed.

"What happened?" Skywarp asked. "How did things get this way? Megatron would never have let this happen."

Cyclonus stopped dead in his tracks, his face enraged he turned to face his captive. "I will not permit you to speak ill of Galvatron! He has led us to victory in many battles!"

The two of them arrived at the holding cells, located within a natural rock cavern adjacent to the Decepticon fortress. Cages were stacked neatly against a solid rock face. Each cage held a Decepticon in varying states of assembly. Blitzwing, a little charred but still functional, was still able to use his self repair function to fix the damage inflicted by Skywarp. Motormaster was occupying two cages. His torso, arms and head were laying still inside a cage, while the adjacent prison held his legs. Skywarp couldn't help but feel a little proud he had taken down so many Decepticons by himself, even if he had a bit of an unfair advantage.

Skywarp turned his head back to Cyclonus. "You're not going to win the war in this state. If it were Megatron-"

"Megatron is dead!" Cyclonus grasped Skywarp's throat, threatening to detach it from his body if he squeezed any tighter. "You saw to that, Skywarp. If it had not been for Unicron, I too."

The revelation that suddenly hit Skywarp felt like he had just received a blow to the head, despite the fact he had just received one.

"You were there!" Skywarp's eyes lit up, "Just like Galvatron! Which means you're either an Insecticon, or you-!"

"Enough." Cyclonus' commanding voice alone brought Skywarp's train of thought to a crashing halt. "I don't remember anything before Unicron. All I know is that if you left Galvatron to die, then you left us to die as well! You may have saved us this time, but if Galvatron doesn't need you then neither do we."

With that Cyclonus pushed Skywarp inside an empty cage and sealed it behind him. Hook of the Constructicons picked up the cage with his extendible arm and added it to the pile of prisoners, placing Skywarp squarely between Dead End and Starscream.

"I knew we were going to lose." Dead End said in typical resigned fashion. "I should have stayed on Earth, the Autobot cells were cleaner and I might have gotten a nice quick execution instead of drawn out Decepticon torture."

"Starscream." Cyclonus spoke as he retracted the cage door of the cell adjacent to Skywarp. "Lord Galvatron has summoned you before him."

The look on Starscream's face was a curious mix of fury and abject terror. Starscream wriggled in his bonds before being pulled out. "Please don't take me to Galvatron! Please! I'll do anything! ANYTHI~NG!" Starscream wailed dramatically as he was led off.

Skywarp grasped the bars of his cell and called out to Cyclonus. "If I said I had a way to get the Decepticons back to Cybertron without setting off the Autobot defence system, would Galvatron listen to me then?"

Cyclonus stopped again for a moment, and looked back to Skywarp. "In our condition, what good would it do us?"

"It could be your last chance. Cybertron is overflowing with energon... If we could get a group of Decepticons on the planet we could syphon off more than enough for a small group. WE could fight them from underground just like they used to do to us." Skywarp hadn't considered the implications of what he'd suggested, but the plan made sense, it even made a degree of sense to him shockingly enough.

"What are you suggesting? A Decepticon insurgency? That we lower ourselves to hiding in shadows and striking at scraps like pitiful Autobot rodents?"

"You're right. What was I thinking?" Skywarp sank back in his cell. "Decepticon pride, huh? Then I guess you'll be staying here to starve without energon, under Galvatron's heel."

Cyclonus didn't say a word, he turned his back on Skywarp and grasped the pleading Starscream by the head, leading him back into the main fortress.

"If it is any consolation," Dead End droned, "I thought it was a good plan. Of course, it was doomed to failure from the start."

"What are you SAYING?!" Came a malice ridden scream from the far end of the pile of cages. "That traitor blew us apart! As soon as I get my legs, I'm going to bust his nose cone wide open!" The scream had come from the unfortunate Motormaster, Skywarp had earlier blown apart using one of Blitzwing's explosive shells. It appeared that the loyal Decepticon forces had separated him from the missing pieces of his body just to frustrate him further.

"I told you siding with Starscream was a bad idea, but you didn't listen to me did you? Nobody listens to me." Dead End shook his head and sighed as the other Stunticons started hassling him from their respective cages.

Skywarp sat silent, at times like this it would normally have come naturally to him to start picking on the smaller vehicle based Stunticons from the safety of his cell. But as their raised voices raged around him, he found himself thinking deeply about himself and what he was going to do next. Thundercracker, Megatron, Shockwave, Unicron, Melissa... none of them were here to guide him and for once he would have to make a decision for himself.

--

It had taken several hours for the Stunticons to calm themselves and cease their bickering. Most of them had shut themselves down to preserve their own lives, and the stack of cages was now far too quiet. With the energon shortage amongst the Decepticons, there was certainly none to spare for prisoners, so with no one to observe his movements Skywarp had decided his best option was to _quietly_ escape... somehow.

Starscream's attack had left the dimensional ripper off-line and the restraints placed on him restricted all of his transformation ability. All he had to work with were his brute strength and the power of his own central processor.

"I'm doomed." Skywarp droned, temporarily switching his voice to mimic Dead End.

Skywarp looked at the lock keeping the cage door closed. It was an entirely manual device, with the lack of power to spare it would seem the Decepticons had reverted to more primitive methods of keeping prisoners locked up.

'_If it's just a mechanical lock how hard can it be to break?_' Skywarp thought, rearing his fist back to strike it. Putting all the power he could muster behind the strike his fist flew unabated into the mechanism. Skywarp felt the plating on his knuckles crack as they struck the cage door he pulled his fist back and looked at it. As expected the plating around each knuckle was fractured, Nanites set themselves to work repairing the damage, but the lock remained unharmed.

'_Alright so I need a new approach_.' Skywarp thought for a second and surveyed his surroundings.

A single Decepticon stood guard at the cavern entrance. A rather bedraggled looking robot, with but a single blaster pistol to defend himself. One whom was clearly feeling the effects of the energon shortage just as much as everyone else. His body was dented and scarred, looking at the poor machine's life force slowly ebbing away made Skywarp think of how Thundercracker had looked the last time he had seen him.

'_Hey, wait a minute..._' That memory of Thundercracker was just the right thought he'd needed, and the puzzle pieces slipped into place one by one. '_Perfect!_' Skywarp exclaimed internally. '_I just hope he isn't smarter than me. ... I'm doomed._'

Skywarp opened the cavity in chest, adjacent to the cockpit, and extended the fuel line used for energy transfer.

"Hey! Hey, you!" Skywarp called out to the guard at the cavern entrance.

The guard looked around at Skywarp, curious at the sudden attention from a prisoner.

"Hey! Want some energon? Since I'm stuck in here I've got plenty to share." Skywarp thought right about now he should be cringing if he were still human, this ploy was dismal, pathetic, there was no way it was going to work, he'd have to come up with something else.

The guard moved suddenly, his lethargic gangly stance had shifted into a sprint and before Skywarp's optics could refocus, the guard was at the cage. "Energon?! You'll really give me energon?! REALLY?!"

Skywarp gawked at the desperate machine now on its knees outside his prison cell. "Of course, even though I'm in here we're still on the same team right? The two of us against the Autobots."

"Right!" The guard wasn't really listening at this point, he was greedily eyeing the transfer cable in Skywarp's hand. "So, you'll give me some right?"

Skywarp wasn't going to press his luck with more banter, he reached through the bars with the fuel line in hand and offered it to the hungry guard. "Here. Drink your fill, my friend."

The guard's hand reached out to grasp the fuel he wanted so desperately, it followed the line all the way, even as it was falling from Skywarp's hand to hang limp at the side of his chest. Still grasping at the line even when Skywarp's outstretched hand had hoisted him into the air by his throat. Still grasping for it even as Skywarp repeatedly rammed the head of unwitting guard into the cage's top bar.

The guard dropped to the ground, his head smashed open, the interior of his laser core had been exposed to the elements outside and was slowly fading from bright white to a dark metallic grey. The guard's hand quivered as he lay on the ground, his arm still fumbling around looking for the fuel line.

Skywarp stared at the sparking carcass of the poor Decepticon he'd just killed. It was pathetic, and a little sad. Both that any Decepticon had grovelled that desperately, and had been so blinded by greed as to not spot an obvious trap still continued to blindly follow his greed, even after death.

"You must have been really desperate for energon to defy the war protocol like that." Skywarp mused. "As much as I'd love to give you a decent send off.." Skywarp's words trailed off when he realized the machine wasn't able to hear him. He was babbling to thin air like some mentally defective human talking to itself for amusement.

Reaching out to the body, Skywarp took the blaster that lay by its side and withdrew it back into his cage. It was a simple operation from here on, and there wasn't any need to think about it in depth. Using the weapon, Skywarp blew away the locking mechanism on the cage, and merely pushed it open to embrace the welcome glow of freedom.

As Skywarp stepped from the cage onto the rocky ground he saw a brief flash of light before his eyes and looked down, to see a pinpoint laser shot had just pierced the control cluster in his neck, cutting off his head from the rest of his body, including his power supply.

"Oh... _Vector_ _**SIGMA**_!" Was the last thing that left Skywarp's lips before his body toppled and collapsed, sending up a cloud of dust in its wake. His core shut down almost instantly, not wanting to waste any energy reserves it had, plunging Skywarp's world once again into darkness and silence.

--

The glow returned to Skywarp's eyes, and the familiar diagnostic inventory scrolled across his display. Everything was normal.

"_Normal?_" Skywarp thought to himself., "_Didn't I just get my head cut off?_"

Skywarp looked down to see his body still where it should be, his neck showing no signs of damage. Looking around at his surroundings Skywarp could not make out any discernible exits, the room was barren stone, a dome shape that seemed perfect for solitary confinement.

The red light from Skywarp's eyes provided little illumination, and the lack of heat sources in the room made his optics all but useless. Skywarp brought the energy blade from his right arm to bare, it's purple light beating back the darkness with its rhythmic pulses of energy.

There in front of him was another Decepticon Seeker, the white of its armour plated body shining purple in the light of Skywarp's extended weapon. Recognizing Starscream instantly, Skywarp was about to jump into a defensive posture and bring his cannons to bare, stopping short only when he noticed that the body did not have a head.

Wherever Starscream had been taken, he had come back missing a little something, Skywarp mused, allowing himself a slight satisfying grin.

"That Galvatron..." Skywarp said aloud, leering over the decapitated form of his elder brother. "He's not Megatron, but he's still got style!" Skywarp punctuated the last word by swinging his foot into Starscream's side, flipping the headless Transformer over on the dusty floor.

As if on cue, a seam appeared in the smooth wall of the dome, and a portion of the structure slid back revealing an opening to a tunnel complex, winding its way through a mountain range adjacent to the Decepticon citadel.

Through the opening walked Scourge, one of Galvatron's lieutenants. While his thick armour was a cold metallic blue, Scourge had an almost organic look about him. His hands were tipped by vibrating claws designed to gauge into an opponent and tear away portions of their body, and from his chin protruded a thick black sheet of armour covering the delicate control clusters in his neck, almost as if it were hair growing from his face.

The most bizarre feature of this machine however were bat like wings which fanned out from his back completing the look of a bizarre creature created by human imagination, designed to scare imbeciles and small children.

Scourge brought his right hand up to chest level, the object in his grasp clipping the hard stone wall.

"Careful, you fool!" The object complained in a shrill voice.

Skywarp couldn't believe it. Somehow Starscream had weaselled his way out of danger again and had come back from Galvatron alive. Scourge tossed the head to the body on the ground with a disgusted grunt, Starscream howled in protest as he bounced and ended up face down in the dirt.

"What's going on?" Skywarp asked, keeping his blade at his side, ready to strike if need be.

Scourge looked Skywarp in the eye and his face curled into a snarl. "Cyclonus would never betray Galvatron, he will stay here to support him until they both run out of energy and their cores expire." Scourge lamented. "**I**, will not."

"And what's that doing here?" Skywarp asked, pointing his weapon at Starscream's cursing head.

"We will need a tactician on Cybertron, despite his treacherous nature." Scourge explained.

"On... Cybertron?" Skywarp asked, a stupid grin creeping across his face.

Scourge nodded, "I will hear you out. Speak quickly, because when Galvatron discovers his favourite trophy is missing his rage will likely bring down portions of the citadel. Cyclonus can only keep him distracted for so long."

Skywarp understood all to well even from the small displays of Galvatron's sudden rages that nobody would want to be around when he was truly angry.

"So tell me, Skywarp, how will we get to Cybertron?" Scourge asked, folding his arms across his chest.

Skywarp's grin widened and he stretched his arms out to express his confidence. "Oh, you're gonna love this!"


End file.
